Deutsche Windtechnik's US unit, which was founded in 2018, can look back on an outstanding, record-breaking year. This year alone, the US subsidiary experienced growth of more than 700%, with growth expected to continue into 2021. Particularly noteworthy are the new contracts that have made the company responsible for more than 1 GW in the USA alone. The increase in service contracts is being shouldered by more than 100 new employees taken on in the operational and administrative areas. Among them are also experts for the Mitsubishi and GE turbine technologies that have recently been added to the service portfolio. Training programmes have been developed in the areas of technology and safety to ensure high service quality and uncompromising occupational safety.
1 GW milestone achieved in November – 10 GW for the entire company
Among other things, the success of Houston-based Deutsche Windtechnik Inc. is due to the number of new service contracts for Siemens, GE and now also for Mitsubishi. The addition of Mitsubishi to the service portfolio brought in 724 MW under long-term contracts, and this resulted in a total capacity of more than 1,300 MW just in the US this year. This milestone also helped Deutsche Windtechnik as a whole to achieve a global portfolio of over 10 GW under service contracts.
The new projects mean that existing structures have to be adapted to accomodate the growth. The number of employees has more than quadrupled in one year and is now at a total of 139. Among these are more than 90 technicians who service and repair wind turbines in 14 states. In order to maintain the quality of service at the highest possible level, Deutsche Windtechnik has invested heavily in the training department in the US. This enables it to impart cutting-edge technological expertise through its specially developed training programme, which is tailored to each turbine technology. In addition, the strategic choice of a decentralised organisational structure provides fast communication and decision-making channels that ensure high-quality turbine service and an orientation towards the customer and employees.
Customer benefits through individual services
In addition to the usual maintenance activities for wind turbines under long-term contracts, Deutsche Windtechnik in the US also provides other important, specialised services to help wind farm owners achieve optimal operation of their wind turbines. In 2020, this included the exclusive commissioning and maintenance of battery storage systems, inspections during installation and at the end of the warranty period, replacement of large components and technology-related upgrades.
Investments and customer feedback are of great importance for future growth
For Melf Lorenzen, Managing Director of Deutsche Windtechnik in the USA, employee development and customer feedback are of the utmost importance in order to continue on the path to becoming the most trustworthy O&M provider. "Our basis is to invest in our team through cutting-edge technical training and specialist knowledge, and to further develop ourselves individually. The unique corporate culture plays a decisive role in this. We involve the customer through continuous monitoring via the internationally recognised NPS survey system. This ensures that we remain focused on the customer and further improve the safety and performance of renewable projects, together with the wind farm owners we cooperate with."
