Winder Electrical is celebrating in Leeds after announcing that four of its transformers have passed some of the most stringent quality tests in the business.

Winder Electrical is celebrating in Leeds after announcing that four of its transformers have passed some of the most stringent quality tests in the business - and helped the company win a prestigious contract worth œ1.2 million. The rigorous short circuit tests were carried out on four Winder transformers at a specialist accredited laboratory in Germany. They were demanded by a customer - Birse Process Engineering - to ensure that the equipment they were considering buying to provide the power supply for ancillary equipment on the second section of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, was of the highest standard available.

With more than a century of expertise and experience in its field, Winder was confident that its transformers would pass, and was prepared to ship them over to Germany and pay for the tests - an exercise which cost tens of thousands of pounds in total.

A number of other companies tendering for the work declined to send their transformers for testing.

Winder general manager Paul Matthews explained: ''The process began when companies tendering for a specific contract were told they had to ensure all their transformers passed the short circuit tests, otherwise they would not be allowed to bid for the work.

'Some of our rivals withdrew because they did not want to submit their equipment to the tests, or did not want to pay the many thousands of pounds it costs to complete them.' ''But at Winder we have every confidence in our products and knew they would pass.

Now the four we submitted are all certified by FGH, the awarding body, and although the certification applies only to this contract, the point is that we have proved the quality of Winder equipment and that must give customers added confidence in buying our products,'' Mr Matthews continued.

The tests are destructive and involve nine consecutive tests, each with a duration of 0.25 seconds and with the peak current being applied three times on each limb of the transformers.

Routine tests and a visual inspection of the active part of the transformer were also included in the scrutiny, before the transformer was stripped down so that every component could be closely inspected for defects.

In Winder's case none were present.

Mr Matthews said: ''We have always had the utmost confidence in the work here at Winder and it is great to have this backed up in this way.' There is no doubt that this latest announcement will also help Winder win more orders to set alongside its recent successes, which have seen Leeds-made equipment commissioned for Ireland, Nigeria, Iraq, and the Orkney and Shetland Islands.