Due to popular demand, AREVA T&D’s Matthias Schirmer will present a session on Maintaining AREVA FKF2 Cuckoo Clock Mechanisms at the 2009 Finepoint Circuit Breaker Test and Maintenance Training Conference. Matthias, chief engineer of the R&D department, said that the objective of the session is to familiarize maintenance personnel with this older generation of spring mechanisms.

“This equipment is used on SF6-insulated high-voltage circuit breakers from the 70s and earlier" Matthias said. “These mechanisms are no longer manufactured but thousands of these circuit breakers are still in service all around the world.”

 The session will be held on Thursday, Oct. 8, and will allow participants to gain awareness and knowledge so they can operate and maintain this equipment and extend its reliability.

“Our intention is to share our experience about the function of these mechanisms and how to avoid problems.” Matthias said.

 Matthias has been with AREVA for about 20 years. He started at the former AEG factory (which is now AREVA) in 1990 in Kassel, Germany. He worked there as design engineer and project manager for Life- and Dead Tank circuit breaker development. He moved to the U.S. in 2005 where he joined the AREVA T&D engineering group in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. He has held the position as the chief engineer of the R&D department since. He is an acknowledged specialist for high-voltage switchgear.

He will bring his knowledge to the Finepoint Conference this year to for the first time with the intention to share his experience. He expects this forum to be a place "where communication with manufacturers and vendors about technical topics will be possible without marketing bindings.”

AREVA T&D will be exhibiting each evening at The Hospitality Expo in Booth #58.