Called a re-grand opening, Saturday’s event at Georgia Transformer served as a commitment from the plant’s new management to the Rincon facility.

Caravels LLC — which has allied with Virginia Transformer — bought the plant from EFACEC, the builders of the transformer manufacturing facility and its original owners, last December. Georgia Transformer, the plant’s new owners, reaffirmed the plant will remain in operation and said it is expected to grow in the future.

 “And this is just a start,” said Neerja Gursahaney, managing director for Georgia Transformer. “We’ll continue to make improvements and earn new business from our customers and add new jobs, over 100 jobs in the coming years.”

The 250,000 square foot plant is acknowledge to be the best power transformer plant in North America, said Prahbat Jain, the president of Virginia Transformer and acting general manager of Georgia Transformer

Jain said he spoke with an outfit in Texas that is working with Virginia Transformer. “They have seen all the plants in the country. I said, ‘tell me honestly,’ and they said, ‘this is bar none the best plant in North America.’”

Said Gursahaney: “They spared no expense in building and designing this state of the art manufacturing center. It’s amazing. It is the nicest and most highly automated transformer manufacturing facility in North America.”

One of the plant’s greatest strengths, Jain and Gursahaney noted, goes beyond the steel and concrete. It’s the people who come to work there, they said.

“We have discovered more and more the wealth of this plant is in the people,” Jain said. “It is our challenge to channel that, organize that and to bring the business into the plant so we can make a big success that they deserve. We are committed to doing that.”

Virginia Transformer has three other plants in North America, and the Rincon plant will allow the company to build the largest transformers, completing its ability to make transformers of any size, Jain said.

“We saw this as a huge opportunity to continue and even grow this operation,” Gursahaney said. “We recognized the significant investment EFACEC made in the facility and the equipment. We recognized the skilled and trained workforce they left behind. And we recognized the commitment of the customers that have kept this business in operation.”

The ongoing and deep Portuguese recession hampered EFACEC’s business. The company, headquartered in Porto, Portgual, began to suffer.

“There were some problems in Portugal through the recession,” said Effingham Industrial Development Authority CEO John Henry. “EFACEC did not have the wherewithal to withstand the recession.”

Georgia Transformer’s plans to keep the plant open and grow its business were welcomed by local officials.

“It is extremely important,” Henry said. “It is extremely important. EFACEC proved the viability of this project and this facility. Now with a fresh beginning, it reinvigorates the whole hopes we had for this facility from the beginning. We’re pretty much assured growth and prosperity into the future from the facility for Effingham County.

“This plant is a major capital investment in this community,” Henry added. “It was going to be a long-term play. This site is an ideal location. We’re assured someone is going to be here, taking advantage.”

Added Rincon Mayor Ken Lee: “So many of the people in Effingham County have had to commute to Savannah to find employment. That’s changing, and this company is a big part of that. The more opportunity we can give our citizens here, that’s all the better for us.”

Congressman Buddy Carter also said there were many positives in Caravels purchasing the plant and choosing to invest in its operations.

 “It is very important,” he said. “Change is never easy. Seldom is it fun. But sometimes, it’s necessary. This transition has gone exceptionally well. Not only through the transition were they able to maintain the jobs without any layoffs, but now they have committed to invest more into the facility and create even more jobs. On top of that, what they are doing here is vitally important to our country.”

Georgia Transformer and Virginia Transformer also will be branching out into the renewable energy sector, building units to help turn green power into juice for homes and businesses.

“It has grown very, very rapidly,” Jain said of the green power transformer market. “We are dedicated to the energy independence of the country as well.”

The company has more than 1,000 employees and more than 150 engineers, and it is producing transformers that can last up to 60 years, Jain added. They also recently received orders for transformers capable of 2,000 MVAs, megavolt amperes, which can provided power for up to 400,000 homes. They also have the technology to build the quietest transformer in North America, and the company’s growth rate over the last 40 years is 80 percent.

“We have achieved that through sustained innovation and above all, customer service,” Jain noted. “We have competition from China, Korea. It makes us more nimble and makes us try harder.”

Henry said he remembered showing the site in 2007 and as EFACEC officials begin to envision where the buildings would go, he knew he had a deal in the offing.

“They started placing buildings and asking about rail,” he said. “I used to work residential real estate and when they start placing the furniture, you know you’ve got a sale. We knew we had a good project.”

And for the IDA, it was just what they had in mind for the 55-acre site.

“This is really our flagship operation,” Henry said. “This is the key piece to what we call the Cadillac site. We held out. We wanted a great facility and it took a while to get it, and we certainly have one here. This is something to be proud of.”

The company hopes to add 150-200 jobs over the next three years and to invest in new processes and tools for the Rincon plant.

“This plant is going to become the plant of choice for everybody in the country,” Jain said. “This is the plant of choice. We have the best quality, we have the best employees and we have the best sales force that go out there and give the message out there.”

Added Gursahaney: “We have a bright future ahead of us and with the entire employee team behind us, we are committed to Georgia Transformer’s success. We look forward to a long and prosperous future here in Rincon.”