York-based American Hydro has been acquired by Enprotech Corp.
American Hydro is a provider of custom hydropower refurbishment and turbine solutions
The company specializes in the engineering, design, manufacturing, refurbishment, installation, and servicing of high-performance hydropower turbines and pumps.
The company was founded in 1986 and became part of Wärtsilä in 2016.
Annual revenue for the company was approximately $50 million in 2021.
“The entire organization is extremely excited to add American Hydro to our collective portfolio of businesses focused on the maintenance, repair, rebuild and modernization of heavy industrial equipment,” said Chris Pascarella, president and CEO, Enprotech Corp. “American Hydro expands our industry segmentation into the renewable energy sector, a key growth category for Enprotech Corp. Additionally, American Hydro has remarkable technical capabilities that will strengthen our entire organization.”
He said that Enprotech Corp. is currently pursuing strategic acquisitions that will add to the organizations’ larger collective maintenance, repair, and productivity optimization capabilities.
The transaction is expected to be completed in first half of 2023 subject to regulatory approvals.
Voith Hydro employees work on a Francis hydropower turbine in York -PHOTO/PROVIDED
Voith Group is celebrating 145 years in York County with an outlook for more innovative ways of doing business thanks, in part, to the pandemic.
Stanley Kocon, president and CEO of Voith North America, said, like many companies, they had to shift overnight from in person customer service to virtual communication.
However, the shift to online communications has proven to be a good thing.
“It was a quick transition for us and we adopted in a remote manner,” he said. “We developed video support so our customers could show us what their issues were and that propelled the business and industry forward.”
Stanley Kocon
Voith North America is comprised of Voith Hydro, Voith Paper and Voith Turbo, within its Corporate Center/Global Business Services. All but Voith Paper, which is in Wisconsin, are headquartered in York County.
While the company does business throughout the country and globally, some of its customers are in Southcentral Pennsylvania. Before the pandemic, technicians would personally visit customers to troubleshoot. Very quickly, the company was able to speed up digitalization and troubleshoot via video.
Now that travel restrictions have been lifted, the company uses both methods, but Kocon said some prefer the video method because it is immediate.
“We are a culture of immediate satisfaction,” he said. “Never in history have we had such rapid information and now I see it being put to the best use.”
Voith is a family-owned company that originated in Germany. Over the years, it set up a highly regional focus in strategic locations around the world. In the United States, hydropower, manufacturing and engineering became its footprint because of the high demand, Kocon said.
So how did they land in York?
Voith Hydro dates back to 1877 when it was known as S. Morgan Smith. S. Morgan Smith became Allis Chalmers which was acquired by Voith Hydro in 1986 after collaborating with the company for many years, Kocon said.
Today, the York location is one of the world’s largest dedicated hydropower manufacturing facilities and the only one in the U.S. with a hydraulic test laboratory, he said.
“Our 215,000-square-foot production area has some of the largest machine tools in North America. Hydropower is a clean, renewable, sustainable energy source and can support less stable renewables like wind and solar,” he added. “In some places it also helps with recreation – swimming, fishing, etc. We produce products that result in more efficient and environmentally safe hydropower and provide state-of-the-art digital solutions that improve efficiency of hydropower plants.”
In 2014, the company completed the expansion of the Holtwood Hydroelectric facility on the Susquehanna. Voith supplied the turbines, generators and automation components for the project, which more than doubled the century-old plant’s electricity generating capacity.
The company also built the world’s largest turbine – at the time in 1903 – for Niagra Falls, he added.
Voith Turbo has been in York since 1987. “Our facility has more than 69,000 square feet. We specialize in high-performance drive-line equipment for Industry and Mobility applications. Voith Turbo’s mobility solutions (including electric drivelines) help make transportation more efficient and sustainable whether it’s on roads, railways or waterways,” he said.
In fact, the company’s Schneider Propeller runs New York’s Staten Island Ferry.
The company also developed the first automated transmission for transit buses and the first hydrodynamic coupling, he said.
Voith Turbo’s industrial solutions focus on maximizing safety and resources while increasing productivity for customers in energy, oil & gas, power and mining & metals applications around the world. Voith Turbo is even developing and producing gearboxes and generators for wind turbines to further support renewable energy.
“What all of our group divisions have in common is that we are focused on sustainable, innovative solutions that help industries, people and communities. In fact, our DNA/mission is ‘Sustainable Technologies for Generations’.”
To that end, as of this year, all Voith plants operate climate net neutral and since 2016, the company has reduced its CO2 emissions by 31%.
The company operates in 60 countries with 16 primary sites in the U.S. It employs about 20,000 globally, 1,950 in the U.S., with just under 800 in York.
The company touts $5.1 billion in sales globally and $654 million in the U.S.
Looking to the future, Kocon is excited about the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. If passed, it will invest in domestic energy production and manufacturing and reduce carbon emissions by roughly 40% by 2030.
“It has to get to (President Joe) Biden, but to have the recognition that we have to deal with climate change is important to us,” he said. “We are positioned to deal with clean energy in high performing industries. Our products are made in the U.S., in fact, right here in York and we are the only company with a hydraulic test laboratory.”
COVID made it clear that companies need to rely on parts made in the United States, he said. While he doesn’t discount global economics, “It was a revelation to many that we need to make things here – we need to support industries with a local supply chain.”
Both Voith Hydro and Voith Turbo are service and retrofit operations. “We do rapid high-tech work to put companies back in service quickly and we’re strong in that by virtue of our presence in York,” he said.
Voith is a net zero company and manufacturer for clients. “It takes investment from our employees and our investors,” he said. “Being local creates ownership between our employees and the industries we serve.”
He said the employees know they need to be there for their customers and because of that they know what they are working for. It makes for a dedicated workforce, he said.
York-basedVoith Hydro welcomed the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act Tuesday that the company said will provide a boost to the American clean energy economy with clean energy tax credits and requirements for domestic sourcing.
Stanley Kocon
President Biden signed the legislation Tuesday after it passed both houses of Congress last week. The energy section of the legislation invests a total of $369 billion in energy security and climate change.
“The Inflation Reduction Act is a welcome development for the U.S. hydropower industry and a game changer in the fight against climate change,” said Voith Hydro North America President and CEO Stanley Kocon. “I am particularly pleased that hydropower has finally achieved tax parity with other renewables, and that Congress recognized the need for pumped storage hydro through the technology’s inclusion in the expansion of the investment tax credit.”
Veronica Coptis, executive director of the Center for Coalfield Justice, Washington, Pennsylvania, said while the law makes an investment in reducing carbon emissions, it does not do enough to address the root causes of the climate emergency, and instead, tethers the country to the same polluting industries and fossil fuel companies that are harming the climate the most.
“This is a crisis. We cannot afford any fossil fuel expansion,” she said. “Unfortunately, this law is the product of a backroom deal that could weaken environmental protection laws through permitting reform. Doubling down on natural gas drilling is a recipe for disaster, and the IRA sells out our allies in the gulf south to more offshore drilling that exacerbates damage to the climate and the extreme weather events like flooding and hurricanes that impact us all.”
The Inflation Reduction Act also starts to level the playing field for domestic manufacturing, enabling more Americans to join the fight against climate change, Kocon said.
Kocon has long been a champion of “Buy American” provisions that require the federal government to give preference to U.S.-based manufacturers in its procurement decisions. Kocon outlined his support for Buy American policies in an op ed published last year in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
With half of the U.S. hydropower fleet owned and operated by federal agencies, Buy American policies have a disproportionate impact on hydropower manufacturing.
According to Voith Hydro, provisions of the legislation that will positively impact U.S. manufacturing and clean energy include:
Extension and modification of credit for electricity produced from certain renewable resources, including hydropower. Extends the production tax credit (PTC) for facilities that begin construction before Jan. 1, 2025. In addition, facilities that satisfy domestic content requirements will receive an increased rate of 10%.
Extension and modification of energy credit. Extends the energy investment tax credit for facilities that begin construction before Jan. 1, 2035. It also expands eligibility to storage technology, including pumped storage hydro.
Clean energy investment credit. Creates a new Section 48D that would provide a clean energy investment credit for eligible clean energy investments, structured as a technology-neutral incentive.
Extension of the advanced energy project credit. Amends the tax code to expand the qualifications for and allocation of advanced energy project credits. The section specifies that within 180 days of this bill’s enactment, a program must be implemented by the Treasury to grant certification to applications by credit project sponsors. The modification allows the secretary to allocate an additional $10 billion in tax credits to qualifying projects.
Advanced manufacturing production credit. Provides an outline of credits available to those who produce materials used for clean energy production in trade or business with an unrelated person.
Funding for implementation of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act. Appropriates $20 million to the Environmental Protection Agency for the implementation of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, as well as $3.5 million for the deployment, implementation and oversight of new tools to use when carrying out the Act. Furthermore, this section appropriates $15 million for competitive grants for reclaim and innovative destruction technologies.
Advanced Industrial Facilities Deployment Program. Appropriates about $5.8 billion for the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations to support: the purchase and installation of advanced industrial technology, retrofits and improvements to eligible facilities; installation or implementation of advanced industrial technology; or studies needed to prepare for such projects.
Coptis said positive aspects of the IRA include:
Support for the permanent extension of the Black Lung Disability Fund, which will save lives. However, this important fund will need an increase in rate in the near future to remain solvent
A Methane Emission Reduction Program that includes remediation efforts to reduce emissions and clean pollution on Abandoned Mine Lands
Rural Community Investments of $20 billion for climate resiliency in agriculture and $14 billion for lower energy costs and clean energy jobs in rural areas
Environmental Justice Investments of $60 billion, including public health and transportation access projects in environmental justice communities, along with Justice40 (directing a whole-of-government effort to deliver 40% of benefits from federal investments toward environmental justice communities) for all spending.
“The devil is in the details when it comes to implementing these federal resources, and we need to continue to fight to ensure that frontline communities are getting their due share of benefits,” Coptis said. “The fight to protect our communities from pollution and severe weather events is not over. Continued momentum will require an increased focus on the needs of frontline environmental justice communities to have their voices, experiences, and futures centered in our climate and economic policymaking.”
Heidenheim, Germany-based global technology company Voith Group announced that it has acquired the remaining shares of its hydropower company, Voith Hydro Group Division.
Voith purchased the remaining 35% stake in the company from Munich, Germany-based Siemens Energy, which established the company with Voith in 2000.
The completion of the transaction makes Voith the sole owner of the Voith Hydro Group Division. Voith Hydro’s U.S. headquarters is located in York.
“We are extremely pleased to have completed the acquisition as planned. With this move, we are continuing to systematically pursue our strategy of strengthening our core business in the field of sustainable technologies,” Dr. Toralf Haag, CEO of the Voith Group, said in a statement. “As a full-line supplier of hydropower technology, we are ideally placed to exploit the potential of hydropower in the renewable energy mix. In doing so we are making a substantial contribution to the shift to renewable energies and the decarbonization of the industry.”
Voith Hydro was first established as a joint venture between Voith and Siemens to combine the expertise of Voith with the generator capabilities of Siemens. Today, Voith has its own expertise in the generator space as a full-line supplier, the company wrote in a press release.
Voith currently employs 20,000 people and locations in over 60 countries worldwide.
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