China’s leading industrial drone company, MMC, is changing the way that utility companies around the world think about power line stringing.
MMC is dominating the market in power line stringing by drone in Asia, and rapidly spreading around the globe. Power line stringing by drone offers tremendous advantages to developing countries without a robust road infrastructure system. Performing the stringing by drone is not only safer for utility workers, but protects the environment and provides easier access to difficult terrain.
The process is simple – but the results are stunning. MMC’s team of experienced operators equips their industrial drone with a guiding line and travels from tower A to tower B – even if tower B is over the ocean. A process normally requiring a boat and large teams of utility workers can be completed in minutes. Thailand’s EGAT (The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand) is the state enterprise responsible for power generation and transmission across the entire country – and after seeing this demonstration in Phuket, they’ve signed the MMC team to complete a major project in Northern Thailand early next year.
MMC is already the primary partner for Indonesia’s PLN(Perusahaan Listrik Negara) a government-owned corporation with a monopoly on electricity distribution in Indonesia. They’ve worked with MMC to finish most of their power line stringing projects over the last two years. It’s been a recipe for success for PLN, tasked with bringing power to remote islands and rugged terrain that can be almost impossible to reach without drone technology.
The company is now working with agencies in India to bring their Spider drone solution to the northern area of the country. When agencies have the opportunity to witness a practical demonstration of the Spider at work, they quickly realize the transformation that drone technology can bring to the process.
MMC is already at work on the next generation of Spider drones, to be released at the end of the second quarter in 2018.
Alan is serial entrepreneur, active angel investor, and a drone enthusiast. He co-founded DRONELIFE.com to address the emerging commercial market for drones and drone technology. Prior to DRONELIFE.com, Alan co-founded Where.com, ThinkingScreen Media, and Nurse.com. Recently, Alan has co-founded Crowditz.com, a leader in Equity Crowdfunding Data, Analytics, and Insights. Alan can be reached at alan(at)dronelife.com