About Padfinder
Who we are
Padfinder is operated by TODO_LEGAL_ENTITY in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. We buy used and surplus electrical equipment, mostly distribution transformers, switchgear and motor control centers, and sell it to the plants, contractors and data centers that need it now, not in nine to fifteen months.
We buy as a principal, for our own account. We are not a broker and we do not represent anyone but ourselves. When you sell to us, we are the buyer. When you buy from us, we are the seller, and your recourse is against us.
That is deliberate. One contract, one company accountable, and nobody in the middle pointing at somebody else when a unit does not show up.
How the process works
If you are selling
Send a photo of the nameplate. It tells us kVA, voltage, and year, which is most of what we need to price a unit.
We check the model against recent sales and come back with a number in one to two business days. There is no fee and no obligation. You are not committed until you accept a written offer.
If you take the number, we handle rigging, freight, and paperwork. The unit stays where it is until it is sold, then ships once, directly from your site to the buyer's.
If you are buying
Tell us what you need: kVA, primary and secondary voltage, where it is going, and when.
You see everything we have on a unit before you commit: nameplate, photographs, ownership documentation, and test results where they exist. Every unit is labeled with what has actually been verified and what has not. We do not describe a unit as tested because it looks fine.
If we do not have it, we go find it. We monitor public WARN Act filings and government surplus auctions for plant closures and equipment disposals, which means we often know a unit is coming available before it is listed anywhere.
What we handle
| Stage | What it means |
|---|---|
| SOURCING | From the places equipment actually leaves: closing plants, industrial liquidators, utility surplus, and sites mid-upgrade pulling working gear off the pad. If nothing on the market fits your spec, the request stays open until it does. |
| VERIFICATION | Every unit carries the tier it has earned, and we state what has not been done. NETA-accredited testing is arranged on the seller's site; the signed report reaches you before you commit. LISTEDVERIFIEDCERTIFIED |
| LOGISTICS | Rigging and freight coordinated from the seller's site to yours, including permits and escort where the load requires them. Freight is quoted separately from the unit. Units stay where they are until they ship. No warehouse, no title held. |
What we buy
Liquid-filled distribution transformers, 300–3,750 kVA. Switchgear, motor control centers, and the distribution gear that leaves a plant alongside them.
Used, new surplus, or cancelled-order units. Any age, any condition: in service, never energized, still crated, or sitting in the yard.
We are most interested in the units other buyers pass on: odd kVA ratings, 34.5 kV primaries, unusual secondary configurations. A dealer who has to warehouse a unit only wants what he can move quickly. We do not have that constraint.
What we don't have
No warehouse. No yard. No trucks.
Units stay at the seller's site until they sell, then ship once. Testing is performed on site by NETA-certified firms. Rigging and freight are arranged through firms we work with. We are not a carrier and we never take possession of the equipment.
This is why we can often pay a seller more than a dealer can. A dealer who warehouses what he buys is carrying storage, handling, and the risk that a unit sits for a year, and all of that comes out of the number he offers you. It does not come out of ours.
How to reach us
Email is usually fastest. If you are calling about equipment you want to sell, ask for acquisitions.
PADFINDER