This article was written by Peter Follows, featuring George Partyka
By trading transactional relationships for long-term, strategic partnerships, PTI focuses on giving every part of the value chain the confidence to make the investments needed to increase production.
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For years, many industries have optimized for speed. The “just-in-time” supply chain model became the gold standard—minimize inventory, reduce costs, and keep things moving with surgical efficiency. But when the pandemic hit, that efficiency became a liability. Shelves went empty, factories paused production, and companies around the world scrambled to secure parts they once took for granted.
More recently, tariffs, geopolitical uncertainty, and margin erosion have again driven companies to question their supply chain strategies.
A common response is to diversify the supply base, expanding supplier networks to spread risk. But in the power transformer sector, market leaders took a different path. Rather than cast a wider net, they chose to deepen their connections, betting that trust, foresight, and long-term alignment would outlast volatility. It’s a contrarian move that may prove to be a model worth emulating.
For George Partyka, CEO of PTI Transformers, a leading manufacturer of power transformers, this shift isn’t just a strategy—it’s a necessity born out of the unique challenges this growing industry faces. Fortunately for George, it’s also how PTI has operated since its inception.
A Perfect Storm
Unlike industries that rely on commodity inputs and benefit from interchangeable suppliers, power transformer manufacturing depends on specialized components, from copper winding conductor to transformer-grade electrical steel. This specialization, coupled with the demand for long-term operational durability, narrows the pool of reliable suppliers. Limited supply was one thing when demand was flat. It was something entirely different when the surge that followed the pandemic turned the industry on its head.
The post-pandemic economic recovery accelerated the industry’s transformation, but George identifies a perfect storm of factors that have brought it to its current state.
When the U.S. introduced the Inflation Reduction Act and Canada doubled down on its commitment to net-zero by 2050, the North American power industry experienced growth not seen since the 1970s. Instead of simply replacing aging infrastructure, forecasts called for grid capacity to double.
Demand forecasts, however, fell short of clearly defining what would be required to make that happen. The problem with a call to “double the grid” was that it meant different things to different people. It might involve doubling generation, beefing up transmission, or expanding distribution networks. In the years leading up to and immediately following the pandemic, forecasts remained at a high level, leaving suppliers across the value chain to work together to figure out how to get there.
Compounding the issue, these forecasts failed to account for the added strain of rapidly growing alternative energy sources and data centers, which can require as much electrical supply as a small city.
The industry faced the immediate pressure of longer lead times—increasing from one year pre-pandemic to three years or more today—as well as the intricacies of syncing its needs with customers who often operate on government-regulated rate cycles and tight budgets.
Deepening Partnerships
While many industries have responded to such supply chain challenges by spreading risk across a broader base of suppliers, PTI has taken the opposite approach: deepening relationships throughout the supply chain.
By trading transactional relationships for long-term, strategic partnerships, PTI focuses on giving every part of the value chain the confidence to make the investments needed to increase production. Without this confidence, the industry’s ambitious goals will remain out of reach.
PTI’s commitment to integration reaches down to sub-suppliers and up to their own utility clients. By collaborating directly with their suppliers to forecast demand, the manufacturer shares insights that allow for better allocation of resources, from raw materials like aluminum and copper to finished components like bushings and cores.
“We don’t shy away from handholding,” George admits. “We’ve even facilitated introductions between customers and new suppliers to ensure every part of the value chain works together.”
Redefining Risk
This level of reliance on a smaller pool of suppliers inherently opens the door to risk, but in the power industry, the only way to keep up with demand is to work in lockstep with suppliers and to truly understand their constraints.
This integrated approach stands in sharp contrast to industries such as automotive manufacturing, which actively reduce risk by spreading production across multinational supply chains. For power transformer manufacturers, however, the risk lies not in relying on fewer partners but in failing to align priorities across the ecosystem.
Dollars and Sense
At the heart of the industry’s pivot toward integration is a shared commitment – and a financial imperative. The investments required to ramp up production in this field are staggering. Doubling the grid, by anyone’s definition, doesn’t come cheap.
What makes capacity expansion feasible isn’t a promise of short-term profitability but rather long-term certainty. PTI and others in the power industry speak of five- to 10-year memorandums of understanding rather than one- or two-year contracts. That provides everyone in the chain the confidence to invest.
Lessons for Other Industries
While the framework of deepened supply chain integration might be uniquely suited to select industries, its insights are valuable across every sector. PTI has set itself apart not by stockpiling suppliers or relying on transactional procurement practices, but by building mutual understanding and a shared dedication to solving immediate and long-term needs.
Reliability and foresight have replaced aggressive cost-cutting as the ultimate competitive advantages. This reflects a broader cultural shift, as customers increasingly recognize the cost of uncertainty.
George has learned that his time is best spent directly engaging with leaders throughout the industry—whether it’s working with government to help understand utilities budget cycles better, collaborating with utilities to tackle their challenges, or ensuring PTI’s suppliers are planning five years ahead instead of just one.
The result is a model where success is measured by more than just output. It’s defined by shared trust among stakeholders. PTI is demonstrating that flexibility, reliability, and a willingness to solve problems are value propositions powerful enough to see this company—and this industry—through the storm brewing with global trade tensions.
While many industries scramble to protect themselves from external shocks, PTI demonstrates the value of looking inward. By knitting their supply chain closer together instead of expanding it outward, they’ve positioned themselves to thrive in a period of unprecedented growth. And they’re ready to double down on that bet.
