New AVIX Autonomic Lasers Protect Substations at Risk for Bird-Caused Outages

Press Release Summary:

• Help substation operators prevent outages, improve reliability and reduce repair and equipment costs
• Mounted and programmable system of lasers provide automated protection for substations
• Lasers are beam of light that birds perceive as a physical threat, causing them to disperse to seek safety

Original Press Release:

TransGard and Bird Control Group to Add Bird Protection to Substation Offerings

Exclusive agreement accelerates program to protect utilities, cooperatives

(York, Pa.) — TransGard, a leading provider of animal-deterrent equipment to substations, announced today it has reached an exclusive agreement with Bird Control Group to distribute the manufacturer’s AVIX lasers — a new, innovative tool for the power industry.

Bird Control Group’s laser products have demonstrated their effectiveness in a wide range of other industries, including agriculture, industrial sites and golf courses.

Now, the partnership will enable TransGard to bring this high-tech solution to a longstanding problem that has plagued electrical substations — bird roosting and bird droppings. Birds are responsible for nearly a quarter of outages in the U.S., according to T&D World.

Bird Control Group’s AVIX Autonomic lasers will help substation operators prevent outages, improve reliability, and reduce repair and equipment costs.

Under the exclusive agreement, TransGard will cover the North American power distribution market. TransGard will use an array of AVIX Autonomic lasers as the core of Laser Bird Defense, a mounted, programmable system of lasers that provide automated protection for substations. In addition, TransGard will offer a handheld version of Bird Control Group’s AVIX lasers.

“TransGard has been recognized as a market leader for decades, protecting more than 3,000 substations from climbing animals,” said Steinar Henskes, CEO of Bird Control Group. “Their reputation and their access to an underserved market made TransGard the ideal partner in the power generation sector.”

To date, TransGard has uncovered significant interest among North American substation operators who have found limited success in preventing incursion from birds. Already, TransGard has installed lasers at 20 substations for 15 different utilities in 10 different states.

The currently available bird deterrents — coverups, noisemakers, fake predators, fog machines — only provide temporary, spotty relief. Lasers offer a superior alternative:  a beam of light that birds perceive as a physical threat, causing them to disperse to seek safety.

“Lasers offer a unique — and uniquely effective — solution to the bird problem, and they’re a natural fit with our existing products,” said Bill Reichard, TransGard President. “The new partnership will enable us to rapidly scale our efforts to protect hundreds of substations at risk for bird-caused outages.”

For information on TransGard, visit www.transgardfence.com.  

About:

TransGard LLC, based in York, Pennsylvania, delivers patented substation protection exclusively engineered to eliminate substation outages caused by climbing animals and birds. TransGard has installed protective devices at more than 3,000 substations in the U.S. and Canada. For more information or to view case studies, visit www.transgardfence.com.

Bird Control Group prevents conflicts between birds and human activities in a sustainable, innovative, and safe manner. The company’s laser bird deterrents show successful results in different weather conditions, in different industries, and in different countries. Bird Control Group’s North American office is in Wilsonville, OR. For more information, visit www.birdcontrolgroup.com.