EVSE for everyone
Rapidly growing interest in electric vehicles has helped unite two sections of a company.
YHI (New Zealand) Ltd is part of a global group with a significant part of the global alloy business and automotive tyre distribution.
It set up a power division nearly 14 years ago to deal with things like industrial batteries, solar power, DC and UPS power units and more.
Now the huge interest in EVs has brought the two sides together in the distribution of Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE).
To illustrate the speed of the change, YHI (New Zealand) Power Systems senior sales engineer Aaron Gillon was in Taiwan on business and saw one of their existing suppliers was making EV chargers and internal components for vehicles.
“I didn’t take much of an interest at the time,” he says.
“But a week later back in New Zealand I was asked by some customers about buying some EV chargers.
“The next thing, a few hundred seven kilowatt chargers were sold. We had to fly 50 in and were supplying 150 within a month or two.”
Gillon says it began “a massive learning curve” on EVs and brought about the company’s first cross-over product.
YHI now supplies chargers to car dealers, installers, wholesalers and some utilities – but not the public.
“Within three years there’s been massive growth,” Gillon says. “Every day I’m swamped with EV enquiries.”
He’s getting a Hyundai Ioniq as a company car, the company’s first pure electric, so he knows the demand.
“Just about all my customers have EV charging.”
YHI (New Zealand) has now become the exclusive distributor for Rolec EV, a division of United Kingdom based company Rolec Services.
Rolec EV designs and manufactures EV charging solutions, offering quality products at competitive prices.
A wide range of chargers is offered – from the entry level WallPod: EV Ready unit to the highly sophisticated EV ControlCentre – to suit every location and budget.
Its product range is designed and built to be flexible and compatible with all leading motor manufacturers’ EVs and their communication protocols, including all types and modes of charging.
Through YHI (New Zealand), Rolec EV can offer personalised ranges to suit individual client requirements, specifications and branding.
And they can be provided for the home, for commercial premises or for public charging sites.
Rolec EV has been specialising in the products for the past eight years and its clients now include Jaguar Land Rover, DHL, Kia, Nissan, AirBus, Sony, Gatwick Airport, McDonald’s and many others.
“Rolec have just finished a roll-out for Volvo too,” Gillon says. The Swedish automaker has said that from 2019 it will make only electric or hybrid cars, starting with their manufacture in China.
Gillon says Rolec EV products come with a lot of options and a very customisable system. Various pedestal charging systems are available, including coin or token operated ones.
But the most popular are the WallPod units, including one with a domestic socket for other uses. Another has an automatic timer to take advantage of power at off-peak rates and also incorporates an override button in case instant charging is needed.
There’s a CubiCharge portable charging box with Mode 3, Type 2 points from 1way to 4way formats, suitable for showrooms, service centres, EV promotional events and the like.
Most of the units – particularly the SecuriCharge ones – are vandal-proof.
“Yes, there is a little bit of EV envy out there,” Gillon says.
Type 1 and Type 2 leadsets can both plug into the same charger, which means a Japanese or United States EV can be charged up alongside a European brand.
Options extend to the colour range as well. About 25 different colours were to be featured at the YHI (New Zealand) display at the evworld show in the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau on September 8 and 9.
Primarily stocking the black and red WallPods to match its Neuton Power brand, YHI has other colours available either in stock or within a reasonable lead time. Unsurprisingly, the black and red scheme has been very popular in Canterbury.
“Our motto is ‘EVSE for Everyone’,” Gillon says.
Contact YHI on 0800 877 359 or ev@yhi.co.nz or visit www.rolec.nz
for more information.
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