Deutsche Windtechnik UK and BGB Partner to Reduce Waste and Downtime

The Problem

After a wind turbine went down due to a worn generator slip ring, a key component of a wind turbine, BGB was called into action to support in sourcing an alternative. Chris Hudson, DWT Area Manager explains: “We were receiving lead times from manufacturers of 6-10 weeks which is an unacceptable amount of downtime in January. We had been working with BGB on repairing some pitch control and generator slip rings last year and they had produced some nice work. Usually, they turn things around for us in 4-6 weeks, but they were able to squeeze us in and turned it around for us in about a week.”

The Solution

BGB has increased its repairs and servicing activities in recent years as part of its commitment to reducing waste and becoming a sustainable manufacturer. Alex Pucacco, Business Development Manager explains further: “BGB has been pursuing a number of initiatives internally; with our supply chain and with our end customers. As a manufacturer of rotary solutions for the wind industry, we are acutely aware of our impact on the environment. We are investigating by-product material recovery as part of our Circular Economy R&D activities, as well as looking at waste streams coming out of wind farms to see whether we can reintroduce these materials back into the supply chain to be reused.”

The Future

Looking to the future, BGB is working to transition away from a linear take, make, use and dispose approach to products, as well as working with customers to develop alternative offerings geared towards long-life products under servitisation models. This allows BGB’s designers to optimise their work for longevity, maintenance, reuse, and recyclability instead of relying on consumption volumes to sustain business.

The Happy Customer

“At DWT we want to work with like-minded people and have a positive impact on our environment. We are not just active in the climate-friendly energy sector in our professional role through wind energy but we also try to implement sustainability into our business practices.”

Info

BGB offers multi-brand slip ring servicing and repair to reduce O&M costs for wind turbine operators as well as reducing their waste stream from generator brushes and other materials. Deutsche Windtechnik is a specialist in the maintenance and repair of wind turbines on land and at sea with a focus on the systems engineering of the manufacturers, Vestas/NEG Micon, Siemens/AN Bonus, Nordex, Senvion, Fuhrländer, Gamesa and Enercon.