Compound end boxes rarely get attention — until one fails.
Across ageing networks, replacement of compound-filled end boxes is becoming more frequent, particularly where original insulation systems have deteriorated and air insulation is not practical because separation distances are limited. In these situations, the replacement dielectric is not a minor detail; it is central to long-term reliability.
When specifying compound box filling for refurbishment works, the goal is not simply to refill the box. The dielectric has to maintain insulation performance over time, tolerate operational movement, and resist the conditions that caused deterioration in the first place.
At Lovink Enertech, LoviSil® provides a purpose-engineered solution for compound end box refurbishment. Unlike curing alternatives, LoviSil® remains permanently fluid, allowing it to move with conductor expansion and contraction under load. Solidifying compounds cannot accommodate this movement; over time they form voids, and voids lead directly to partial discharge and eventual breakdown.
In MV end box refurbishment, the dielectric choice directly affects service life, insulation integrity and future maintenance. A fluid dielectric offers an important practical advantage because it can move with conductor expansion and contraction during load cycling, helping to reduce the formation of voids that can lead to partial discharge.
LoviSil® requires no mixing, can be poured straight from the bag, and does not require greasing of the box prior to installation. It is also fully compatible with residual pitch or bitumen, meaning complete removal of legacy compound is not always necessary.
With a minimum dielectric strength of 21 kV/mm, LoviSil® delivers insulation performance equivalent to XLPE. It resists moisture ingress and forms a sealing barrier if moisture attempts to enter, helping prevent migration deeper into the system.
Re-entry is simple. Release the bolts at the base of the faceplate and the LoviSil® drains into a container. No cutting. No effort. Just drain and go.
For asset owners, this provides a cost-effective alternative to full end box replacement while restoring dielectric performance and extending service life.
Recent failures involving replacement compound-filled end boxes highlight a recurring issue: choosing the wrong dielectric solution only delays the problem.
Alongside solutions for compound box filling and end box refurbishment, Lovink offers a broad range of medium voltage cable joints designed for ageing infrastructure, upgrades, repairs and new connections across 11kV and 33kV networks.
Below is an overview of the 11 Lovink joint categories, each developed to suit specific installation and network requirements.
A complete range of medium voltage cable jointing solutions for repairs, transitions, upgrades and new underground cable connections.
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Transition Cable Joints For connecting legacy paper-insulated cables to modern polymeric MV cables. |
Straight Cable Joints For straight-through MV cable connections requiring continuity and insulation reliability. |
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Stop-End Joints A sealed solution for terminating underground MV cables safely and securely. |
Branch Joints Designed to create branch connections within MV distribution networks. |
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Cable Repair Joints Ideal for repairing damaged cable sections without replacing the full route. |
Extended Resin Cable Joints Provides extra sealing and bonding space for more demanding installations. |
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Feed-In Cable Joints For connecting new power sources into existing underground MV cable systems. |
Loop Cable Joints A compact solution for internal looping arrangements in restricted spaces. |
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Oil Refill Cable Joints Designed for paper-insulated lead-covered cables where oil retention is essential. |
Crossbonding Cable Joints Used to help manage sheath losses and improve MV cable system efficiency. |
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Compact Cable Joints A space-saving MV joint solution for ducts, trenches and compact installations. |
Full Lovink Range View the full Lovink cable joint range for MV refurbishment and connection projects. |
Compound-filled end boxes often only get attention when something goes wrong. But the choice of compound box filling has a direct impact on insulation performance, moisture resistance, re-entry and long-term reliability.
Where refurbishment is the preferred route, Lovink’s LoviSil® offers a practical and technically robust alternative to full end box replacement. Combined with Lovink’s wider MV joint portfolio, it supports utilities, contractors and network operators working to extend asset life and improve resilience across ageing cable systems.
Thorne & Derrick supply Lovink LoviSil® solutions and the wider MV cable joint range, with technical support for refurbishment, repairs and new cable connections.
Selecting the right cable cleat is a key part of designing and installing a reliable power distribution system. In environments such as industrial facilities, critical power and other electrical installations, cable cleats help ensure a short-circuit event does not escalate into major cable or equipment damage.
During a fault, electromagnetic forces rise rapidly and can cause cables to move violently. Correctly selected and installed cleats restrain cables during these brief but critical moments — supporting safety, equipment protection and overall system integrity.
This guide sets out practical steps to support cable cleat selection: understanding fault forces, the variables that influence cleat performance, and how to choose solutions that suit your cable formation, tray/ladder geometry and site constraints.
Cable cleats aren’t just tidy cable management. They are a mechanical safety component designed to restrain cables during short-circuit conditions.
Start with prospective fault level and formation, then work outwards to spacing, mounting geometry and installation constraints.
Tell us your cable sizes, formation, tray/ladder type and prospective fault level. We’ll help you identify a compliant, practical cable cleat solution for your installation.
Selection Support • Standards-Led Guidance • Project-Ready Supply
In an era of click-based procurement and AI-driven recommendations, a critical question is amplifying across energy and process industries. When lives and multi-million-pound assets hang in the balance, are your buying processes safe and robust?
For Thorne & Derrick International, the answer today is “probably not”. Thorne & Derrick has deliberately and clearly positioned itself not as a catalogue supplier, but as a solutions-based consultative partner adding high value expertise to energy supply chains globally.
The Thorne & Derrick team of highly trained Technical Sales Engineers provides correct product specification and supply supplemented by value-added services. This includes supporting customers with system design, site survey, field training, product demonstration and CPD-accredited courses. In hazardous areas and high-voltage industries, where a single mis-specified component can trigger catastrophic system failure, this distinction isn’t commercial nuance — it’s a safety imperative.
The rise of online B2B marketplaces and impersonal web-based stores has transformed industrial purchasing, bringing speed and transparency to many categories but dumbing down decision-making and introducing error into customer carts. Beyond doubt in HV, ATEX, IECEx and DSEAR-regulated environments, digitisation carries some serious risks. Whilst products may appear dimensionally identical across three suppliers online, subtle yet critical differences in product specification can dangerously go unnoticed.
Never mind mis-selection — counterfeit is common; product faking is rife.
“Customers aren’t buying a commodity,” explains Chris Dodds, Sales & Marketing Manager at Thorne & Derrick International. “They’re investing in a service that assures delivered products will comply and ensure optimum performance with built-in safety and reliability. This requires deeper intelligence beyond the datasheet to include the operating context; understanding explosion protection concepts, T Class, Gas Group, bushing interfaces and complex high-voltage cable specifications and configurations. No dropdown menu captures that.”
The Thorne & Derrick philosophy underpins their business model: Sales Engineers undergo continuous professional development training in hazardous area and high voltage standards, product technology, selection, installation and application engineering. The investment upholds a core belief: Product Compliance & Installer Competence must exist alongside industry regulation and technology.
From 600V to 66kV, from Zone 1 to Zone 21, they are committed across the business to supporting the delivery of safe projects. The common thread isn’t product breadth alone; it’s the application of contextual intelligence to match equipment specification with site reality to deliver that safety.
Thorne & Derrick support a sharpened commitment: Certified Products, Installed Competently. Certification validates the product’s design integrity and assurance emerges from the correct selection. Competency is assured by training and ongoing development to ensure the highest levels of installation workmanship. One without the other creates vulnerability.
As the energy mix accelerates through renewables, decarbonisation, hydrogen, battery energy storage and innovation in hazardous area processes, the complexity of Certification and Compliance intensifies. Legacy knowledge alone no longer suffices. In this dynamic landscape, Thorne & Derrick International positions its Sales Engineers not as checkout order-takers, but as active participants in clients’ safety ecosystems.
Technology will continue reshaping procurement. But in environments where error tolerance is zero, the human layer of expertise remains irreplaceable. Thorne & Derrick International’s value proposition rests on a simple, sobering premise: the cheapest or fastest option isn’t always the safest. And safety, ultimately, isn’t purchased—it’s engineered through partnership.
For engineers specifying critical infrastructure, that expert partnership may be the most important component in the bill of materials.
In HV and hazardous area environments where error tolerance is zero, our Technical Sales Engineers help ensure correct selection, compliance and safe performance in the real world.
Certified product selection support • Application engineering guidance • Project-ready documentation
A Complete Guide for Asset Managers
Environmental protection around LV, MV and HV transformers is a growing priority for utilities, renewable energy developers, industrial sites and BESS operators. With increasing regulatory pressure around oil containment, many sites are upgrading to modern Transformer Bund Filters—a passive, low-maintenance system that allows clean rainwater to drain while preventing oil from escaping a transformer bund.
A Transformer Bund Filter is a passive drainage system installed on oil-filled transformer bunds to let clean rainwater escape while automatically sealing if the filter becomes inundated with oil.. These systems contain hydrocarbon-absorbing media and a self-activating shut-off valve that prevents any contaminated water from leaving the bund.
DrainEezy Bund Filters are now widely used across:
The DrainEezy system uses hydrophobic media ensuring:
| Features | Draineezy Bund Filter | Oil-Water Separator |
|---|---|---|
| Power Required | No | Yes |
| Maintenance | Low | High |
| Installation Cost | Low | High |
| Environmental Risk | Very Low | Medium |
| Response to Oil Spill | Automatic Shut-off | Manual Intervention |
Thorne & Derrick supply the full range of Draineezy Transformer Bund Filters, fitting kits, pre-filters and technical support.
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| DrainEezy Bund Filter | DrainEezy New Design | Oil Filled Transformers |
Thorne & Derrick distribute the most extensive range of 11kV 33kV Cables, Cable Jointing, Terminating, Pulling & Installation Equipment – we service UK and international clients working on underground cables, overhead lines, substations and electrical construction at 11kV 33kV and up to and EHV transmission and distribution voltages; approved stockists and suppliers of 3M Electrical (ColdShrink), Nexans (Euromold), Pfisterer (CONNEX) and Lovink cable accessory and connection products.
Joints, Terminations & Connectors | MV HV | 11kV 33kV 66kV
Thorne & Derrick, a Specialist Electrical Distributor for Lucy Zodion, have successfully completed delivery of the industry-leading Fortress range of feeder pillars to a major street lighting project for the Highways Department of Nottinghamshire County Council. The project demonstrated our combined customer service excellence, communication speed and technical support while ensuring full compliance to client specification. Upon payment completion the consignment of 27 feeder pillars was delivered ex stock from factory to field within 3 days.
Project Overview:
Fernmac Limited, sub-contracted to Nottinghamshire County Council, urgently required 27 galvanised steel feeder pillars delivered from stock to precise technical specifications for installation across the county’s highways network. Although Lucy Zodion was not the specified manufacturer, their Fortress range of feeder pillars recommended by Thorne & Derrick, fully satisfied the council’s design and performance requirements. Each feeder pillar was required to:
Tight project timescales meant Fernmac needed a proactive and technically capable supply partner to coordinate specification, communication and logistics with Lucy Zodion.
Upon receiving the enquiry, Thorne & Derrick reacted quickly to review the design drawings, confirm compatibility and liaised directly with Lucy Zodion to secure the required units from available stock. This rapid and coordinated approach ensured that the project remained on schedule, with all 27 feeder pillars delivered and installed in line and in time with the local authority requirements. By maintaining close communication between Fernmac, Lucy Zodion, and the council’s highways contractor, Thorne & Derrick ensured a smooth and efficient delivery process.
The successful delivery of the feeder pillars demonstrated the value of agility, communication and collaboration across the supply chain.
Key outcomes:
Overall, working with Thorne & Derrick was an excellent experience. They’re professional, knowledgeable, and genuinely committed to customer service, and we’d be happy to work with them again.
– Tom Cressey, Fernmac Limited
Should you require support with the design and manufacture of standard or pre-wired Low Voltage Distribution Pillars please do not hesitate to contact Thorne & Derrick – specialist application and engineered feeder pillars are available to suit design requirements of Solar & BESS, Renewable Energy, Data Centre, Rail, EV and DNO projects for Independent Connection Providers (ICPs).
Thorne & Derrick International, based in the UK, are leading Specialist Distributors of LV-HV Cable Accessories, Jointing, Tooling, Substation & Electrical Eqpt Distributors and have been an Approved Supplier of Lucy Zodion for over 15 years.
Lucy Zodion is a leading UK manufacturer of street lighting control and power distribution equipment. Their Fortress range of feeder pillars is designed for durability, safety, and performance across infrastructure, highways, and industrial applications. Learn more here.
Published 12 Mar 2026
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