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What pad mounted transformers cost
We do not publish a price list, because a real number depends on voltage, options, origin and your date. What we can do is explain the shape of the pricing so a quote you receive makes sense.
The one thing to understand about transformer pricing
Cost per kVA falls sharply as the rating rises, and it is not a volume discount. Most of what you are buying does not scale with the rating.
| Scales with rating | Broadly fixed regardless of rating |
|---|---|
| Core steel | Tank and cabinet |
| Winding conductor | Bushings, elbows and switches |
| Insulating fluid volume | Paint, labour, testing, paperwork |
| Freight and handling |
That is why a 75 kVA unit can cost several times more per kVA than a 1000 kVA unit while being far cheaper outright. If a job sits between two standard ratings, taking the larger one is very often cheaper per kVA and always cheaper than a custom build.
Options that move the number
| Option | Effect | Worth it when |
|---|---|---|
| Copper instead of aluminium windings | Significant increase | The specification demands it, or space is tight |
| FR3 ester instead of mineral oil | Moderate increase | Fire clearance or environmental rules require it |
| Loop feed instead of radial | Moderate increase | Almost always, utilities require it |
| 55 C rise instead of 65 C | Increase | Future load growth is expected |
| Stainless or mill grade enclosure | Increase | Coastal or corrosive environments |
| Expedited production | Large increase | The date is worth more than the money |
Compare quotes on the same origin. A price from overseas production and a price delivered to your yard are not the same product with different numbers, they are different lead times and different risk. Always ask which one you are looking at.
The incoterm is worth more than the discount
Most overseas quotations arrive FOB, meaning the price gets the unit onto a ship and no further. A delivered price, DDP, includes ocean freight, customs clearance, duty and the truck to your site. Buyers compare the two numbers side by side and pick the smaller one, which is how a cheaper quotation becomes the more expensive transformer.
| What the quote says | What is still missing | Who carries the risk |
|---|---|---|
| EXW, ex works | Export clearance, inland haulage, ocean freight, duty, customs, delivery | You, from the factory gate |
| FOB loading port | Ocean freight, duty, customs entry, delivery | You, from the ship rail |
| CIF destination port | Duty, customs entry, delivery, demurrage if it sits | You, at the US port |
| DDP job site | Nothing, apart from offloading and any crane | The seller, to your gate |
On a 75 to 300 kVA unit from Asia, the gap between the FOB number and the real landed cost is commonly 25 to 40 percent once freight, duty and brokerage are counted, and more if the container sits. That is larger than any discount you will negotiate on the unit price. It is also why a delivered quotation from a nearer plant can beat a cheaper factory price outright, which is one reason we quote more than one route.
Two things to insist on in writing. The incoterm and the named place, because DDP to a port is not DDP to your site. And whether duty is included at the current rate or quoted subject to change, since a tariff revision between order and arrival lands on somebody, and the contract decides who.
Price by rating
Each rating page carries the full specification, and we quote against it directly.
For an actual number, send the rating, the voltages and the date or call 786 220 2801. You get every available route side by side, delivered and factory, with freight and duty on their own lines rather than buried in the unit price.