Let's take our birthday as an opportunity to travel back to the end of the 20th century: At that time, wind energy was gaining massive momentum in many countries due to the introduction of feed-in tariffs and auction systems. The European and North American markets for onshore wind energy, in particular, were expanding. Wind energy was beginning to pay off in terms of performance, finances and from an ecological perspective. There was a great sense of optimism. Suppliers, operators and project developers were taking the opportunity to invest. A handful of persistent wind enthusiasts and stubborn visionaries made the turnaround in energy policy possible. Among them were also turbine manufacturers: The major advances in turbine technology and materials they had made soon led to the first megawatt turbines being built.
Manufacturer service turns out to be a wrench in the works
At the beginning of the 21st century, purchasing a wind turbine was still closely linked to service: Purchase contracts almost always included long-term maintenance. Operators had no real choice. In addition, manufacturers were focused on generating new business instead of service. Burgeoning corporate structures and strategic imbalances increasingly created dissatisfaction, even among their own specialist employees. As a result, individual specialists left the manufacturers and used their expertise to set up their own service companies, which operated independently from manufacturers. Among them was the nascent Deutsche Windtechnik. These first ISPs finally brought much-needed competition to the market, which in turn advanced the quality and structures of service. Technical competence, a lot of initiative, flexibility, and direct communication are what set apart the work of ISPs in wind energy to this day.
Stronger together – ISPs team up
As the number of orders, range of services and project sizes increased, financial security, bankability, and insurance became more important. In 2010, Deutsche Windtechnik became the first ISP able to provide the securities required for full maintenance. This was a huge milestone for our company! "This laid the foundation for the first projects worth millions – and our growth could continue," remembers Hauke Behrends, a veteran and now CEO of Deutsche Windtechnik GmbH und Co KG. To pool their strengths, individual ISPs merged and formed larger, stronger companies. Deutsche Windtechnik merged with Windstrom Service SH GmbH in 2012 and with seebaWIND Service in 2015. The broader turbine expertise resulting from the mergers became increasingly popular with operators. "Multi-brand" was the magic word of the hour – especially at Deutsche Windtechnik. Several manufacturers also jumped onto the multi-brand bandwagon, albeit with varying degrees of success.
Unlimited independent service for wind energy
The 2010s were a decade of solid growth for our company: The offshore unit built upon the success of our onshore business in 2013. This included a team of experts, who today comprise the independent Deutsche Windtechnik Inspection Body, as well as other specialized offshore companies. "The founding of Deutsche Windtechnik Offshore und Consulting in 2013 marked the start of a great adventure, as many of the offshore jobs requested had never before been carried out in the wind industry," says Jens Landwehr, CEO of Deutsche Windtechnik Offshore und Consulting. We took our first step into the international arena when we established our Polish unit in 2013. Further onshore and offshore units in other European countries followed, and each was a milestone in our company's history. We are also proud that we ventured across the Atlantic in 2017 and into the Pacific region in 2018. Thanks to you, our excellent employees, Deutsche Windtechnik is now the largest ISP in Europe, the United States, and Taiwan, with a unique range of services onshore and offshore!
The best prospects - let's go for it!
Due to the different and changing country-specific conditions, the global market cannot be lumped together. Each country has its market structure, its opportunities as well as its challenges. This means great prospects and a lot of creative freedom for all of us!
The EU has set itself the target of achieving at least 42.5% renewable energy by 2030. This will require a massive increase in installed wind power capacity from 204 GW in 2022 to over 500 GW in 2030. In the US and Taiwan, too, wind power is expected to replace a large proportion of fossil fuels. Great prospects and plenty of scope for us all! "For me, this is one of the many reasons why, after almost 20 years at Deutsche Windtechnik, I'm still on the ball with enthusiasm and creative drive. And we are not finished yet. This includes keeping our service on the road to success, developing further technologies and tapping even more potential for modernization and digitalization," says Matthias Brandt, Director of Deutsche Windtechnik.
Many new challenges await us – even after 20 years. Let's tackle them!
