Based on its recent analysis of the solar inverter industry, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation (TMEIC) with the 2014 Global Frost & Sullivan Company of the Year Award. TMEIC has redefined the photovoltaic (PV) utility-scale solar inverter industry by developing solutions of outstanding reliability, efficiency, and productivity. The company has rocketed to one of the top three spots in the global market revenue leaderboard, climbing more than 10 places in just two years.
TMEIC was the first company in the world to employ a three-level circuit technology in its PV inverters. This unique topology enables it to create solutions that maximise power generation volume, achieve industry-leading efficiencies, as well as enhance product reliability and lifetime.
TMEIC is also the first to incorporate a unique fan-less cooling technology in its latest PV offering, the Solar Ware Samurai. This advanced cooling system employs a heat pipe technology, wherein the inverter runs without a fan until up to a 50 percent load. This simplifies thermal management as it uses fewer parts and a slow-speed fan with a heat sink, making the solution simple, robust, and low cost, by reducing the need for periodic replacement of parts.
TMEIC employs cutting-edge control technologies in its high-precision maximum power point tracking (MPPT), which assists operation optimisation at all times, while significantly increasing power harvest. Its MPPT efficiency of 99.01 percent is the new standard among PV central inverters.
“One of the main reasons for TMEIC’s remarkable success is its understanding of Mega Trends,” said Frost & Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst Gautham Gnanajothi. “For instance, it was quick to identify potential growth markets in the US, China, and India, as well as formulate a powerful customer strategy to target these regions. This presented the company with the first-mover advantage in the new waves of these high-growth markets.”
TMEIC’s excellent financial performance over the last two years, in terms of revenues and unit shipment, has largely been the result of its market expansion outside Japan. It increased its revenues by 74 percent in 2013 and is expected to achieve nearly 32 percent growth in 2014. Even more impressively, its global installations (in MW) increased by 91 percent in 2012 and 71 percent in 2013. Astonishingly, its compound annual growth rates between 2012 and 2014 in Japan, the Americas, China and India, were 241 percent, 160 percent, 681 percent and 2100 percent, respectively.
Besides its exceptional products, TMEIC provides a 24×7 on-call service that deals with faults and failures, offers support for daily operations and assists with technical questions. It has taken a unique approach towards aftersales service, by empowering its customers to perform service activities on their own.
“Frost & Sullivan finds this approach will inevitably expand its customer base and customer retention,” noted Gautham Gnanajothi. “Additionally, it has a customer-focused procurement policy, which emphasises cost competitiveness, quality, responsiveness to delivery-time requirements, and long-term stable supply.”
Overall, TMEIC’s keen understanding of individual markets and innovation, which allows it to cater to customers’ specific needs, has propelled its rapid ascendance in the PV inverter industry.
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in devising a strong growth strategy and robustly implementing it. The recipient has shown strength in terms of innovation in products and technologies, leadership in customer value as well as speed in response to market needs.
In short, the award looks at the emerging market players in the industry and recognises their best practices that are positioned for future growth excellence.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.