FG Wilson: Soothing the energy opex pain points

One of the global market leaders in primary and backup generator set design and manufacture, FG Wilson supplies over 50,000 units per year to a spectrum of industries including telecoms. In this interview, Ciaran McCarney discusses quality control, customisation and after sales service. We also examine how generator set design has evolved to help emerging market tower operators with the pain points of pilferage and costly, time consuming visits to remote sites.

TowerXchange: TowerXchange have been referred to FG Wilson as one of the ‘go to’ suppliers of primary power and backup diesel generators for African cell sites - please introduce your company and your role in the telecoms power supply chain.

Having almost 50 years experience as one the leading generator set suppliers globally, FG Wilson is renowned for the durability, serviceability and reliability of its product.

We have a truly global presence with a Dealer network of 370 Dealers spread across 150 countries and manufacturing facilities in the UK, India, Brazil, US and China... we’re everywhere!

With regards to telecoms, we’ve had significant success in matching our products to meet tower operator needs in Africa, for example, our local dealer recently secured a US$10m deal with MTN to help power the modernisation of Nigeria’s mobile communications network. Helios Towers Nigeria is also a key customer. We, in conjunction with our Dealers, are continually in discussion with the significant players in African telecoms business to ensure we understand and meet their specific needs.

TowerXchange: Is there a ‘sweet spot’ in terms of the kW load your generator sets support? What are the most common FG Wilson products installed at emerging market cell sites?

The sweet spot depends very much on the segment and on the country we are serving. We sell a significant proportion of our volume at 10-250 kVA, but  we have the luxury of being able to offer a complete product line from 5.5-2,500 kVA - all of which contributes to our success.

TowerXchange: How does FG Wilson assure the quality of your products?

We have an engineering Centre of Excellence in the UK with an established validation and testing process to ensure our products meet customers’ exacting requirements.

We have a feedback loop through our dealer network to ensure continuous product improvement. By adhering to a One Global Standard quality principle across our global manufacturing operations, we make sure every product delivers the FG Wilson promise of engineering excellence.

FG Wilson ships 50,000 units per year. Our volume of sales is testament to our reputation for quality.

TowerXchange: How is your telecoms order book balanced between customised versus off the shelf (OTS) products?

We don’t believe in a single OTS product to meet all customer requirements. We monitor what’s happening in each of our target markets: telecom, industry, retail, transport, health et cetera, and we have an extensive product range catering for each segment.

While our broad range of standard product options from factory meet most market sector needs, we also provide a customised DTO (Design to Order) service. “Non-price list, specialised products” - products that have been customised - represent around 20-25% of our annual volume. Many of our Dealers are also experts at customising our product to meet specific customer needs in territory.

TowerXchange: How does FG Wilson address some of the specific pain points for tower operators identified at the TowerXchange Meetup, such as combating fuel theft and minimising maintenance visits to remote cell sites?

We have developed special products to reduce the risk of fuel theft. Typically fuel is stored in an adjacent tank, to which access can be exposed - thieves can cut the hose and siphon off fuel or put a hole in the fence and crack open the padlock. To counter this, we’ve developed a double skinned fuel tank, with capacity for 1,000 or 2,000 hours worth of fuel, all housed within the confines of the generator itself, with a protective cover on the filling area. No solution can be 100% theft-proof, but this is a pretty strong deterrent!

Towercos are obviously very interested in our solution. We have sold a volume of these units to be used at cell sites in remote locations in the Australasian region.

When it comes to minimising maintenance visits to remote cell site locations, FG Wilson has again responded to customers’ needs by developing products that extend service intervals from 500 to 1,000 hours.  Our high autonomy 1,000 hour models have additional fuel storage capacity, with refinements to every serviceable element; fuel filtration, lube oil consumption et cetera. We’ve worked with our engine supplier to ensure internal adjustments needn’t be made to the engine for 1,000 hours, so that we are able to offer warranty on 1,000 hours of autonomy too.

TowerXchange: How important is the increasing role of hybrid energy to the FG Wilson business?

Developers of innovative hybrid packages are constantly approaching us, and we make sure we’re working with every touch point, talking to the likes of PowerOasis and Heliocentris. We’re always evolving our backup power product range to improve compatibility with hybrid power systems, in order to maintain our competitive position.

TowerXchange: After sales service and logistics seems to be critical to the selection of an FG Wilson solution - tell us about the lifetime, maintenance, spare parts and replacement system logistics support provided by FG Wilson’s channel partners in local markets.

Serviceability is a priority in FG Wilson generator set design and development.

FG Wilson’s warranty to sales ratio is very low for the industrial product industry. We don’t just “sell it and forget it” - if you buy from FG Wilson, you can be assured of excellent after sales service, wherever you are. Our Dealers are generator experts, so our role is really to support Dealers in the provision of after sales service.

Telcos and Towercos plan ahead for new sites and associated generator set procurement, so what differentiates suppliers is their ability to support with spare parts.

We work with our clients to identify their spare parts requirements and ensure inventory is available locally on a very short lead time. We dispatch over three million FG Wilson Genuine parts from our distribution centre in the UK. The quality of our after market service gives people confidence in the quality of our products. We offer a VOR service; 24 hour delivery of a part if, on the rare occasion, our local Dealer happens not to have it in stock.

TowerXchange: Finally, please sum up how you would differentiate FG Wilson’s products from competitive DG solutions for cell sites?

Reliability. FG Wilson doesn’t compromise on quality, adhering to the highest manufacturing standards globally. Our product will do what we promise it will do -  giving Telcos and Towercos peace of mind when FG Wilson power is backing them up.

While FG Wilson quality standards mean we don’t have to compete on price alone, the volume of units we ship keeps us competitive from a capex point of view.

We’ve been trading for almost 50 years, continually developing our products to meet the needs of each industry sector. We use the feedback loop with our Dealers to look at product development from our customers’ point of view. Strong relationships with our customers have been the basis of FG Wilson’s journey to date and will continue to be integral to our future as we build on our success as a world leading power provider.