Contact retrofit. Repair of ship contactors. The sun was just peeking over the horizon when the merchant ship entered the port. After weeks at sea, with engines roaring day and night, it was time for a technical stop. Time was limited: just a few weeks to check systems, repair faults, resupply supplies and prepare for the next leg of an intercontinental voyage. Every minute counted.
In the bustling comings and goings of the shipyard, among engines, valves and technical overhauls, the engine room began to receive priority attention. There, among switchboards, transformers and generators, rested – if you can call them that – dozens of electrical contactors, vital components that withstand intense loads, high temperatures and demanding operating cycles day in and day out. Their role is as invisible as it is essential: to open and close power circuits safely, to control the ship’s large motors, pumps, compressors and auxiliary systems. Without them, the ship’s machinery grinds to a halt.
One of those contactors, however, started to give problems. A AEG 1607H, an older model but still in operation, began to show signs of wear: irregular sparking, voltage drops, signs of overheating. Replacement with a new one was not feasible: space, frame design and dependent systems did not allow for a simple or immediate replacement. Moreover, finding an equivalent part would be a matter of weeks, perhaps months. But the ship could not wait. 
It was then that a name was born: Maghispan.
Since 1992, Maghispan has specialized in the repair and rebuilding of electrical contact sets, both contactors and switches, relays or disconnectors, for sectors such as industry, electrical distribution, railroads… and also the naval sector. We know that, in contexts like this, urgency is not an exception: it is the rule.
When we were contacted by the intermediary company near the port, it didn’t take us a minute to get down to work. The challenge was clear: to completely restore the contacts of the AEG 1607H in record time, bring them back to their original specifications and guarantee their operation with maximum safety. We knew it wasn’t just a simple cosmetic overhaul: it was a precision operation.
As soon as the sets of fixed and mobile contacts arrived by express transport to our facilities in Madrid, our technical team received the shipment, checked the set of contacts, analyzed the degree of wear, alignment, deformations, electric arc marks, and proceeded with the process of recovering them:
- Professional cleaning and pickling of parts.
- Reprofiling and machining of critical areas.
- Contact recovery by technical silver plating.
- Pressure and continuity test.
- Individual verification of closing and opening torque.
In a matter of a few days, the contact sets were restored. Like new.
The repair was delivered in a timely manner. The AEG contactor was reinstalled, and the ship’s electrical system returned to full operation in full safety. It was not just another repair: it was one of those interventions that remind us why we do what we do. Because behind every set of contacts there is an engine that must start, a machine that cannot stop, or a ship that must set sail again.
At Maghispan we understand the urgencies of the naval sector or the emergencies in the industry in the same way: when a ship is in port, when a machine of the industry breaks down, there is no margin for improvisations. Coordination, technical quality and speed are key. And that is what we have been offering for more than 30 years.
Our commitment is not just to repair. It is to give confidence to those who operate in demanding environments, to know that even when parts seem obsolete or difficult to source, there is a solution, there is a solution. And that solution is accurate, reliable and fast.