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Kevin Kucera with NW Signal Maintenance
8th October 2024 • The Industrial Talk Podcast Network • The Industrial Talk Podcast with Scott MacKenzie
00:00:00 00:12:18

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Industrial Talk is onsite at DistribuTech and talking to Kevin Kucera with NW Signal Maintenance about "Ultra-Rapid Surge Arrester".
Scott MacKenzie interviews Kevin Kucera from NW Signal Maintenance at Distribute Tech in Orlando, Florida. Kevin, a 34-year veteran in the electrical industry, discusses their niche services, including rail services and ultra-fast surge arresters. These arresters, developed in collaboration with Advanced Fusion Systems, operate in 300 nanoseconds and prevent electromagnetic pulse damage. They are compact, with a current range of 4-18 kV, and are designed to extend the life of lightning arrestor systems. Kevin emphasizes their importance in preventing equipment failures and reducing operational expenses. Contact details for NW Signal Maintenance are provided for those interested in their products.

Action Items

  • [ ] Reach out to Kevin Kucera to learn more about the ultra-fast surge arrester product.
  • [ ] Connect with Kevin Kucera on LinkedIn to stay updated on the EMP protection technology.

Outline

Introduction and Welcome

  • Scott MacKenzie introduces the podcast, emphasizing its focus on industrial innovations and professionals.
  • Scott welcomes listeners and highlights the importance of celebrating industry professionals.
  • The podcast is broadcasting live from Distribute Tech in Orlando, Florida, with around 17,000 attendees.
  • Scott introduces Kevin Kucera, the guest, and mentions his company, NW Signal Maintenance.

Kevin Kucera's Background

  • Kevin shares his background, mentioning his 34-year career in the electrical industry and his experience in electrified transportation.
  • He holds master electrical licenses in seven states and general engineering and contractor licenses in California.
  • Kevin humorously recounts a story about meeting the president of the IBEW, Lonnie Stevenson, during a teacher training event in Ann Arbor.
  • The story involves Kevin singing the national anthem and receiving a pen from Lonnie Stevenson.

NW Signal Maintenance Overview

  • Kevin provides an overview of NW Signal Maintenance, focusing on their rail services contract and specialized equipment.
  • The company installs cell phone systems and tunnels, and they perform wheel flat detection and under-bridge truck equipment maintenance.
  • NW Signal Maintenance is also developing a new business unit around ultra-fast surge arresters in collaboration with Advanced Fusion Systems.
  • Scott and Kevin discuss the importance of ultra-fast surge arresters, which operate in 300 nanoseconds and prevent electromagnetic pulse damage.

Technical Details of Ultra-Fast Surge Arresters

  • Kevin explains that ultra-fast surge arresters extend the life of lightning arrestor systems and reduce operational expenses by minimizing equipment failures.
  • The arresters shunt transients to Earth without interrupting the system, meeting and exceeding Mil Spec requirements.
  • The technology is relatively new, with a low end of 4000 volts and an upper end of 18 KV, aiming to reach 72 KV in the future.
  • Installation varies depending on whether it's done in an OEM switchgear or in the field, with live installations requiring shutdown procedures.

Applications and Future Prospects

  • Kevin sees the ultra-fast surge arresters being integrated into the grid to protect medium voltage equipment over the next 50 to 100 years.
  • He compares the size of their product to a large coffee cup, contrasting it with a 15 KV device that is much larger.
  • The product is easy to install in OEM switchgear but requires careful planning for live installations.
  • Kevin provides contact information for NW Signal Maintenance and encourages interested parties to reach out for more information.

Closing Remarks and Event Promotion

  • Scott MacKenzie wraps up the conversation, emphasizing the importance of Distribute Tech and the energy utility space.
  • He encourages listeners to connect with Kevin and explore the ultra-fast surge arresters for their applications.
  • Scott promotes the Industrial Talk Podcast Network and invites listeners to be part of future conversations.
  • The podcast concludes with a call to action for listeners to be bold, brave, and innovative in their fields.
If interested in being on the Industrial Talk show, simply contact us and let's have a quick conversation.
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Transcripts

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Industrial Talk, Kevin Kucera, NW Signal, IBEW apprenticeship, electrical industry, rail services, cell phone systems, wheel flat detection, ultra fast surge arrester, electromagnetic pulse, EMP protection, lightning arrestor, national labs, OEM switchgear, energy resilience

00:00

Scott, welcome to the Industrial Talk Podcast with Scott. MacKenzie. Scott is a passionate industry professional dedicated to transferring cutting edge industry focused innovations and trends while highlighting the men and women who keep the world moving. So put on your hard hat, grab your work boots and let's go All

00:21

right, welcome back to Industrial Talk, the number one industrial related podcast in the universe that celebrates industry professionals all around the world. You know you were brave, you know you were bold, you know you innovate, you solve problems, you do everything. You are amazing, and that's why we celebrate you on Industrial Talk. We are broadcasting on site right now, right this very moment. Distribute tech Orlando, Florida is the location, and it is. It's, it's about 17,000 people that are here to solve challenges and make the world a better place. That's what they're here about. In the hot seat, we have a gentleman by the name of Kevin Kucera, got

01:02

it absolutely.

01:04

NW Signal Maintenance is the company, and let's just have a conversation. How you doing? Man,

01:12

I'm doing great.

01:13

Yeah, look at you. Got your IBEW. You? Are you an IBEW? Man,

01:18

in Duluth, Minnesota back in:

01:25

that's it. I was an IBEW too. My apprenticeship was the line work. So it's that's pretty cool,

01:32

absolutely. But I don't have a pen. Funny story. The president of the IBEW gave me my pen. Shut

01:37

the front door, really. They

01:39

want to hear the story. Yeah, I

01:40

want to hear a story.

01:41

r training. So about three or:

03:28

it was good meeting her, man. All right, for the listeners out there, Kevin, give us a little background on who you are. What's your background?

03:34

I am a 34 year veteran in the electrical industry, in some nature, coupled with probably about eight or 910, years into the electrified transportation business, got a master electrical license in seven states, general engineering license in California, general contractors license California and trying to set the world on fire.

04:01

Okay, I'm all in. Tell us a little bit about NW Signal Maintenance.

04:06

Well, NW Signal Maintenance is primarily, initially a rail services contract. We put in somewhere in the neighborhood of 24 to 30 miles worth of cell phone systems and tunnels. For instance, we do wheel flat detection. We have specialized equipment for working in tunnels, some under bridge, truck equipment that do the reach around 30 feet back under the bridge. Very specialized stuff, and it's very niche, high risk, high reward business. We coupled this new product that we're taking, excuse me, taking on into our existing business, which is ultra fast surge arrester.

04:46

So we're trying to fast surge arrester. Gotcha Go ahead,

04:50

yep. So basically, we're trying to create a new business unit on a relationship that I've had with a manufacturer for the past 14 or 15. Years called advanced fusion systems out of Newtown, Connecticut.

05:04

What makes define ultra fast, as opposed to super fast, or fast?

05:15

Well, it's faster than the Road Runner. First of all, yeah, okay. Second of all, it actually starts operating in 300 nanoseconds, approximately. That's prior to the front of the wave of the lightning transients. So that's very ultra that's ultra fast. Yeah.

05:31

Why is it important?

05:33

It's important the fact that it will actually extend the life of lightning arrestor systems that are in place, which creates, let's call outs for the linemen, for blowing capacitor banks, closers, etc. That's that's a cat or operations expense savings by reducing those call outs, broken equipment, failed equipment. But it is actually designed to prevent electron to prevent electromagnetic pulse damage, particularly e1 waveform.

06:04

So once the arrestor does its job, does it? Does it require replacement? No. So it just provides that, that that interruption,

06:20

it shunts, if you will, the transient to Earth without interrupting,

06:26

right? Yeah. So it goes right to ground, yes.

06:29

And carries some of the load that the lightning arrester system may take if it's a lightning event, if it's an e1 event, the lightning arrester will not pick that up. This device is geared towards that it meets and exceeds the Mil Spec requirements by far.

06:49

Has it been deployed? Has it been put in the field? I

06:54

think we can say that during this podcast that yes, it's in couple national labs, and there's a couple confidential clients that have installed it in OEM switchgear.

07:06

What's the what's the typical age? I mean, it's relatively new. Is it new?

07:10

This is a technology that basically has hatched out of into its infancy last year.

07:21

And is there any limitations from a voltage perspective,

07:24

our low end is at:

07:39

yeah, that'd be pretty a bigger size,

07:42

right? They get longer in length, not necessarily larger in diameter. That's right. That's right.

07:47

And easy to install. I mean,

07:50

if it's installed in an OEM switch gear or some type of a manufactured piece of equipment, that's a snap, if you will, because that'd be done in a shop prior to anything being energized. Every installation that would be a live installation out in the field, factory, plant, etc, that most of them, there's going to be many, many different varieties. So I'd say everyone has its own personality. And every approach you're going to have to have shut down, procedures in place, wraparounds, ideally, we would couple an installation like this in with other maintenance that's scheduled. Yeah,

08:25

yeah, that makes sense. But it's not just from a utility perspective. I think You briefly mentioned the fact that it, you know, I might have a substation, and my substation is feeding, and it's my substation I just, I just received power from the utilities, but I can have that particular product in my substation. If I'm a manufacturer and I, you know, or or still manufacturing, there's a lot of load there. Absolutely, it's not a problem.

08:53

It's the customer's choice at that point, not the utilities. Where do you see it going? I see this going everywhere in the grid that basically supplies power to every piece of medium voltage equipment that exists over the next 50 to 100 years. It's a long program, and we're just getting out of the gate.

09:13

Is there anything else similar to this out there? There

09:17

is a 15 KV device, I believe that it's about the size of a Volkswagen. Mars is about size of a Are you kidding me? Ours is about the size of a large coffee cup.

09:32

Yeah, the 15k Yeah. I mean, you get, you got a product on your what size is that product that it's on your desk,

09:40

three and a half inches in diameter, eight inches high, yeah, but

09:44

what's that for? That's

09:45

15k It's nothing, yeah. I mean, I could just a little bit larger than your out of the box, standard metal oxide, Bristol type of yeah, you can

09:54

stick it in a nose bag. That's not a problem, exactly. Yeah? Easy, easy. Wow. Yeah. So Kevin, if somebody's interested in this product some way, shape or form, what's the best way to get a hold of

10:08

org, or call Kevin at four to:

10:15

are you out on LinkedIn? Yes, because I'll just have that link. That's fine. Are you active on that LinkedIn?

10:21

I need to, I need to refresh and Come on, put me out there. I'm specialized in EMP protection. You'll love it. Okay,

10:29

very good. All right, we're gonna have all the contact information for Kevin out on Industrial Talk. His product sounds fantastic. Look into it if you're in the world of energy and resilience and resiliency. There it is. Look them up, connect with them. All right, we're broadcasting from distribute tech Orlando, Florida. Is the location. It is something that you need to put on your calendar for next year if you're in the energy utility space. Yes, it is a must. Okay, we're going to wrap it up on the other side. Stay tuned. We will be right back. Thanks, Scott.

11:01

You're

11:02

listening to the Industrial Talk Podcast Network.

11:10

All right, that's a wrap. Kevin's his name NW signal is the company the event was distributek, and I got to tell you, if you're in that world, in the utility energy infrastructure space, you need to look into distribute tech, great collection of individuals and companies all focused on solving really big problems, big problems way above my pay grade. Most definitely, you'll have all the contact information for Kevin out on Industrial Talk, so reach out. I'm sure he would love a quick chat with you. All right, again, building a platform. You have a podcast, you have technology. You want to be on a podcast. You want greater amplification, you need to talk to me. Put it out on Industrial Talk. It's an easy, easy solution. We want you to succeed. Be bold. Be brave. Dare greatly. Hang out with Kevin. Change the world. We're going to have another great conversation shortly. So stay tuned. You.

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