The independent maintenance provider Deutsche Windtechnik will be expanding its business activities to include the North American market starting in January 2018. Its new US subsidiary Deutsche Windtechnik Inc., located in Houston, Texas, officially opened in November 2017. Until now, Deutsche Windtechnik’s activities have concentrated on the European market and the move will enable the company to react quickly and flexibly to challenges in this new market. The goal is to make the benefits of independent turbine maintenance available to US operators and investors as soon as possible.
Melf Lorenzen will head the American subsidiary. He served as Country Manager for the Spanish market at Deutsche Windtechnik for more than three years, so he brings extensive knowledge and experience to the table in his new role.
Independent service in demand in the USA
The US market already comprises an installed capacity of 88 GW, and this offers significant potential for maintenance activities. As a multi-brand specialist for turbines from Vestas, Siemens, Nordex, Senvion and Gamesa, Deutsche Windtechnik has expertise in approximately half of the system technologies used in the USA. “UpWind and Availon were acquired by the manufacturer Vestas, so this means there is currently no independent maintenance specialist with the expertise to provide full maintenance in the USA”, said Melf Lorenzen, Managing Director of Deutsche Windtechnik Inc. “Our discussions with American operators have shown that our expertise as an independent service provider with international experience is an interesting alternative.”
Many parallels with the European market
Even though everything is generally larger and distances are greater in the US than in Europe, the US wind energy market still has many parallels with markets such as Spain or the UK. Requirements in the areas of occupational safety, processes and regulation for example are similar to those of the British service market. The intensity of competition is more comparable to Spain, due to the relatively concentrated operator structure. Thanks to many years experience of the markets mentioned, Deutsche Windtechnik is up to the task in this regard as well. “This step is the logical consequence of the growing demand we see in North America,” said Matthias Brandt, Director of Deutsche Windtechnik. “Our company is experiencing healthy growth, so this is exactly the right time to enter the US market,” he added. In the long term, Deutsche Windtechnik is aiming to expand not only in North America but also into South America.
About Deutsche Windtechnik AG
Bremen-based Deutsche Windtechnik AG offers a Europe-wide single-source full technical maintenance package for wind turbines. The company operates both onshore and offshore. More than 3,000 wind turbines are serviced by approximately 1,000 employees throughout Europe as part of permanent maintenance contracts (basic and full maintenance onshore). Its system engineering focuses on Vestas/NEG Micon, Siemens/AN Bonus, Nordex, Senvion, Fuhrländer and Gamesa turbines.
