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Optimization of the production at Vestas Towers in Pueblo

Lars Senior Christiansen,

ctFa xBo

Specialist

In a desert landscape of Colorado Vestas Towers are towered above with their huge buildings and with 13.000.000 m2 large production area.

800factory in Pueblo, and they build more wind turbines towers than any other facility in the world with their highly skilled workforce. The capacity is 3800 sections.

employees meet daily at the tower

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Vestas Pueblo, US Towers,

Blaaholm A/S had a visit in Esbjerg on a warm summer day in June. Lars Christiansen landed from USA to discuss new future automation projects at Vestas Towers factory in Pueblo, Colorado. Lars is a senior specialist in tower production with lot of years’ experience in the field. Lars is working on a 5 years technology plan at Vestas Tower in Pueblo, and he is responsible for using, testing and implementing new technology in the tower production. The target is evident; The tower production must be automated, and the production should be cost effective.

The tower factory in Pueblo was built 10 years ago, and the technological development in the production was almost the same, therefore the production plant is worn and technological upgrade is necessary.

Challenges Towers Vestas at

Christiansen. Lars says required” therefore is production

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Lars is also telling about a market with constant development; “We realize that the market is changing all the time globally. We must be clever and have willingness to adapt. The scope is changing continuously. We don’t always know where in the world a development in wind turbine farms happens, as it is often politically decided, and funding opportunities can contribute both to growth or stagnation in a country.”

“Innovation is the strength at Blaaholm A/S. They listen and spend time getting to know the project’s scope. At Vestas Tower, we obtain automation in our production, optimize our service and maintenance with upgrading our production plants.” Lars Christiansen Senior Specialist, PE Towers in Vestas America Wind Tecnology Inc.

Rotators Drive Direct with

One of the project was upgrading of existing rotators in Vestas production. “In cooperation with Blaaholm we ran a project of upgrading 60 set of rotators. They are upgraded with Direct Drive. Our old solution required a lot of maintenance. The new Direct Drive solution is unique. We have no slack in the drive, and we achieve stabile rotation and therefore a stabile welding process” Lars Christiansen clarifies.

Savings maintenance current the on

Lars. tells processes” production our in stability greater a reach can we and maintenance, ongoing the on savings achieve We replace. to easier are parts spare the and price attractive an

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Vestas in elements essential also are parts spare these provide to and partsSpare

Blaaholm. at Manager Sales Technical Hansen, A. Jesper explains 90%” than more by reduced

be will parts wear on costs their Systems, Recovery Flux of implementation the With bought. have Vestas which systems, Recovery Flux 24 includes project The parts. wear on

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In the projects it was essential to have onsite meetings with Vestas’ operators and service engineers to involve their knowledge and experience in the technological development.

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4 service technicians from Blaaholm have been in their workwear for Vestas Towers in Colorado for over the last half year, to work on a technological upgrade of Vestas production equipment. They have been working both in cold and warm weather, as Pueblo lays 1430 meters above sea level and the temperature varies a lot.