Company Report: Foster Transformer Co.
Driving innovation After seven decades in business, Foster Transformer Company refuses to rest on past accomplishments and remains an entrepreneurial, inventive leader

Foster LED dimmable power supply

Demand is so high for the latest product from Foster Transformer Company that when a shipment reaches the United States, it is already sold out. The Dimmable LED Power Supply, one of an impressive 16,000 designs on the company’s repertoire, brings according to President and Owner Herman Harrison “unprecedented flexibility to the LED driver market.”

“As far as I know it’s a unique product that we started developing four to five years ago,” Harrison says. “We keep upping our schedule but so far we haven’t been able to keep up with d
emand.”

Foster Transformer is a veteran in the business of electronic transformers, power supplies, and electromagnetic components, yet, in Harrison’s view, best described as an entrepreneurial company that never takes a “me too” approach.

Founded in 1937 and based in Cincinnati, OH, it manufacturers all types of transformers for a wide variety of applications including, but not limited to, low voltage lighting, battery charging transformers, appliance and vending transformers, and induction heating and heat sealing transformers.

Harrison traces its longevity to the company’s ability to adapt to and capitalize on technological advances that over the years have seen the popularity of certain products skyrocket only to disappear a few years later.

“One of our principal strategies we’ve had since I took over is to never focus on a narrow customer base but try to diversify in many different industries so when one area is in recession, we’ve generally had another part of our base going along successfully,” he explains.

Company founder Arnet P. Foster responded to the tremendous demand for military transformers during World War II and later expanded the business to the home entertainment, HVAC, and industrial markets. In 1965, Harrison, then President of the Kinetics Corporation, took over by purchasing Kinetics and Foster Transformer from the Waltham Precision Instrument Company. At the time, the television and radio markets consumed the company’s manufacturing capacity.

The arrival of the PC once again revolutionized the industry and Foster Transformer was quick to take action.

“Now we’re seeing the next wave, the so-called green energy market,” Harrison says.

HANDS-ON PROBLEM-SOLVERS
Harrison and his son, Vice President Herm Harrison, both graduate engineers, drive product innovation. Problem-solvers by nature, they are the brains behind the company’s wide array of transformers such as Class 2 Transformers, Ferroresonant Transformers, Current Transformers, Voltage Transformers, Autoformers, Isolation Transformers, EMI Filters, and Inductors.

Research and Development take place in close cooperation with the customers.

“We study our customers and actually become extensions of their engineering departments,” Harrison relays. “You frequently get inquiries from other manufacturers or customers that would like you to quote a part supplied by someone else. We almost never do that directly. We go in and meet with the customer’s engineering representatives and determine how the product is used and bring something else to the table, a tweak, a change, or a different approach to the problem. We find it’s helpful to the customers and also help us understand their needs better.”

The Dimmable LED Power Supply is a recent homerun, advertised on the company Web site thusly: “This may be the only driver you’ll ever need.” Designed to power loads up to 60 W, it can be used with virtually any fixture designed to operate from a 12 VDC or 24VDC source. Ideal for commercial, institutional, industrial as well as private use, Foster’s LED power supply has mass appeal and allows users to reap the benefits of energy savings while retaining the aesthetics of dimmable lighting.

The product is now being shipped from a manufacturing facility in China. Foster Transformer entered into joint venture with a Chinese company in 1999, closing a 70,000sf plant in Seymour, IN as it had become unfeasible to meet one of the company’s key goals – covering the entire product need of the customers. The company still maintains a 55,000sf facility in Cincinnati focused on electro-magnetic products.

“It became apparent we needed to serve the low end of the market that we no longer could serve here,” Harrison explains. “We certainly would’ve liked to continue to serve the total market here in the U.S. but it wasn’t feasible.

“The connection in China worked out well for us,” he continues. “We design the products and, fortunately, by Internet we’re able to communicate and send drawings so we’re still in charge of the technology.”

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
In the event of supply interruptions, Foster Transformer is able to calm the nerves of customers by delivering on its promise to manufacture the product domestically at the same price until it again becomes available from offshore. The company also sticks to its philosophy that it will supply replacement parts to any product it has ever produced, resulting in orders for parts built in the 1940s.

“It’s just another thing that sets us apart from the competition,” Harrison states. “You can now purchase products from our Web site and we’ve found that function to be popular, especially for replacement parts.”

Long-term relationships with vendors and customers, some dating back 40 to 50 years, have also proved an advantage, laying the foundation for shorter lead times and smooth communication.

“We’re a very honest company,” Harrison concludes. “I emphasize that to customers on a daily basis. Treat your customers and employees the way you want to be treated. Then people find it pleasurable to both work and do business with you. A company has a reputation just like an individual and our reputation is very important to me.”

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