JFE Shoji Power Canada is transforming electrical infrastructure by keeping people at its core
Whilst others may be stuck in a sustainability slog, JFE Shoji Power Canada is accelerating the electrical energy revolution. A true solutions provider, JFE Shoji Power Canada specializes in the manufacture, engineering and supply of metal cores to power distribution transformers and motors. Championing a ‘people-first’ approach, the company is committed to driving innovation and improvement to electrical infrastructure, offering a comprehensive catalog of cutting-edge core products to promote greater energy efficiency.
Manufacturing Today is joined by Ron Harper, President and Chief Executive Officer, who shares insight into how the company continues to empower businesses and communities with efficient electricity, accelerating the transition to a decarbonized future. He begins by sharing JFE Shoji Power Canada’s wider mission of driving greater electrical efficiency in Canada, as well as how the increased adoption of amorphous metal will assist in extending this mission to the United States.
“A couple of years ago, the Department of Energy in the US set a substantial increase in efficiency standards wherein they expect transformers installed in US utilities to have a much higher level of efficiency. The primary way of doing this is to increase the efficiency of the metals being used to carry the magnetic field inside the transformer; that’s what’s driving the potential for amorphous metal and better, grain-oriented electrical steel. It’s something that we’ve worked on very closely in the Canadian market for the last decade, and we’re currently working closely and collaboratively with our OEM clients to proactively prepare for this transformation,” Ron explains. “Decarbonization is a big factor within our industry – the production of steel worldwide generates around ten-to-12 percent of all carbon emissions that are created by human activities – and so we’re actively working with and prioritizing steel mills that are being proactive in making the necessary investments to decarbonize their production processes.”
JFE Shoji Power Canada has been producing innovative amorphous metal cores for its Canadian clients and OEMs for a long while. Amorphous metal offers a plethora of benefits; the main advantage being it is the most electrically efficient material that can be engineered into transformer cores. JFE Shoji Power Canada has worked in close collaboration with leading amorphous metal ribbon manufacturer, Metglas, for almost 20 years, and these amorphous metal cores have proven highly successful among its existing clients. As the material continues to grow its market share, Ron is keen to expand its use in the United States and widen its application to more distribution transformer codes in Canada.
“Metglas produces this very special alloy that’s used in distribution transformers. It’s a product that has had a large market share for many years, but only for those parts of the world that value high levels of electrical energy efficiency in their electrical grid. It’s a very advantageous material because it allows electric transformers to be much more efficient,” Ron elaborates. “We’ve been working closely with Metglas since 2008, and we have a very strong relationship. Our work, together with our Canadian distribution transformer clients, has grown the material’s market share to around 50-to-60 percent, and we’re now working closely with our OEM clients across North America to develop and expand this market. I don’t think it’s going to reach the same level of market share as in Canada, but it will be targeting around 30 percent from the less than five percent it is today, so it’s a big opportunity to provide an electrically efficient solution for US utilities and we’re very optimistic about its success.”
Of course, the economic landscape has changed significantly since 2008. The US market is particularly tumultuous at present given the current tariff situation, with the metal industry – especially the steel sector – being one of the hardest hit. This is another advantage of amorphous metal produced by Metglas in South Carolina. Since it is a raw material produced in the US, it moves back and forth within the USMCA tariff-free.
“The new tariffs have certainly caused a disruption, largely because there’s a lot of uncertainty about when they’re going to conclude,” Ron says. “All of the electrical steel product that we’ve been supplying from our global sources have been tariffed since 2018, however those tariffs were moved from 25 percent to 50 percent over the last few weeks when we import them into the USA as steel coils. This has created a lot of issues in some of our more recent sales as people are trying to run off inventories in the hopes that the tariffs get reduced back, but the sheer uncertainty of it doesn’t allow you to plan or invest, and our industry requires a lot of investment. The US, for example, produces only half of the North American market’s demand for electrical steel, so imports are necessary and required in many cases. Our fabricated core products are currently tariffed at a level lower than the steel, but this remains a highly dynamic situation.”
Amidst the wave of economic uncertainty and call for climate action, the world is craving reliable, sustainable solutions now more than ever. However, in spite of the present challenges, the future looks bright for JFE Shoji Power Canada. Ron reveals what lies ahead in the company’s future. 
“We’ve almost outgrown our existing facilities due to our growth and expansion over the last five years. We’ll look to see what the Canada and US trade situation is in terms of tariffs and future investments, but I envision us growing significantly within the next three-to-five years, particularly within the automotive sector and material supply chain,” he affirms. “We expect that the increased adoption of amorphous metal in the US will be a big part of our growth because we, along with Metglas, have a unique proposition that not many other companies have.
“We’d like to open additional facilities too; it’s just a matter of understanding the new trend landscape between Canada and the US, as well as where the best location would be and what technology would be adopted.”
Concluding our conversation, Ron takes a moment to reflect on JFE Shoji Power Canada’s most important asset: its dedicated workforce.
“One of the things that we work very hard on is creating a people-oriented culture – one that cares about people, their families and their sense of fulfilment in the company. Our people feel that they’re not just contributing to our communities today, but to a better future for their children and grandchildren,” Ron finishes. “We’ve done a good job of helping them feel connected to the bigger mission, and we offer a high level of care and support for them and their families. There’s plenty of people that maybe started on the production floor and have worked their way through the company into other roles, which can be rare in a large production manufacturing environment. We want our people to feel like they’re part of a mission and a vision that’s much bigger than them, and for them to see the positive impact they’re having on our society.”