"For me, good engineering is the combination of deep technical understanding, practical experience, and the ability to develop robust, safe, and economical solutions from these," explains Severin Mielimonka. "In wind energy, it's not enough to understand just one component or one fault code. What matters is having a holistic view of the turbine, its operation, safety requirements, and the impact on availability and costs."
Engineering is the foundation of maintenance
This understanding becomes particularly compelling when focused on DWT – because here, it goes further: "Our engineering strength lies specifically in the combination of independence, multi-brand experience, and in-house technical depth. Unlike manufacturers, we don't look at turbines through an OEM lens, but from an operator's perspective, focusing on long-term economic operation, even beyond the 20th year of service." From 2nd- and 3rd-level support through fault analysis and repair concepts to SCADA, monitoring, software, control engineering, and training – all of these form part of our core engineering remit and typically occur without OEM support. Severin Mielimonka sums it up: "Without engineering, DWT couldn't offer independent service!"
Three pillars for multi-brand expertise
DWT's engineering is organised into three pillars: OEM Engineering, Mechanics & Blades, and Automation & Controls. This structure recognises that multi-brand competence doesn't mean one person must know everything. Instead, specialised teams for each technology and component are connected through shared standards, processes, and knowledge systems. An indispensable building block is also the development and repair of control systems, electronics, and converters. Particularly with older turbines, where original parts are often unavailable or prohibitively expensive, these in-house engineering capabilities pay dividends: reduced OEM-dependency, better spare parts availability, lower costs, and greater control over technical availability and turbine lifespan.
Control systems as the key – Nordex Delta currently in development
The turbine control system has central strategic importance. As the "technical brain" of the wind turbine, it's the key to the system, organising access to components and communication between them. Severin Mielimonka: "Without this access, we'd struggle to provide independent service. So we're not just developing and repairing components – through engineering, we're creating and maintaining our independence." DWT's engineering team is currently developing capabilities for the Nordex Delta platform. Maintenance manuals, SCADA access, spare parts, FAQs, and troubleshooting tools are all in preparation. Service for these types should be available by 2028.
From individual solutions to standards
How do you reconcile OEM-specific solutions with internal standards? Every Vestas, Enercon, Siemens, Senvion, or Nordex turbine has its own logic, control system, and failure patterns. That's why we maintain engineering-developed know-how for different turbine technologies. At the same time, recurring findings are converted into standards: work instructions, technical specifications, FAQs, material lists, and training materials. "We solve specifically, learn systematically, and standardise what's repeatable," summarises Severin Mielimonka.
Case study: Innovative blade bearing replacement
Proximity to practical operations is one of DWT's key strengths. Failure patterns come directly from the control centre, service, spare parts supply, and customer projects. This generates repair methods, tools, test rigs, training, and standards.
A recent example from France: Despite an OEM-installed blade-bearing monitoring system, a wind turbine suffered blade-bearing damage. The solution: blade removal using DWT's ground-based winch system (GBWS), which requires no additional large crane. The blade root repair was carried out directly beneath the turbine in a specialist tent by our blade specialists from the Mechanics & Blades engineering team. After the bearing replacement, the repaired blade was reinstalled using the GBWS. The result: faster replacement, no crane waiting times, and significantly reduced downtime costs.
Four key challenges
Our engineering team is driving solutions for several major trends:
- Ageing fleet: Many turbines are over 20 years old. Spare parts are becoming scarcer, and manufacturer support is slowly phased out. Economical lifetime extension solutions are needed.
- New technologies: Control systems, software, converters, and pitch systems are becoming more complex, requiring ever greater engineering effort.
- Data integration: Operators want transparent portfolio management. Our manufacturer-independent control centre with 24/7 monitoring, real-time fault response, and data analysis delivers exactly that.
- Internationalisation: Our technicians in, for example, France, Poland, Sweden, the UK, or Germany need to meet the same technical standards. Our European "One Engineering Model", currently under development, connects specialised teams across the three engineering pillars and locations. This creates uniform processes and standards.
Engineering as a cross-functional capability
At DWT, engineering isn't a department – it's a strategic cross-functional capability. From the control centre through SCADA and software development to rotor blade repairs and training concepts – technical expertise underpins everything. The result: we understand the turbines and structure failure patterns, develop solutions, and implement them. For operators, this means: more control, less dependency, and economical continued operation. Even beyond year 20.
