Moventas has launched a new and improved Gearbox Pooling Program.
In the program, customers receive a refurbished or brand new replacement gearbox in exchange for their damaged gearbox, which is returned to the pool for refurbishment. Customers only pay the cost of the repair, and downtime and crane usage are minimized, the company highlighted.
As the customer notifies Moventas of the type of gearbox, location and scope of failure, a gearbox or a mainshaft from a secured FIFO inventory is selected and serial numbers reported to the customer.
Moventas next contacts the site to arrange shipping and installation, and a refurbished or new unit is delivered to the site and installed in the turbine, with Moventas coordinating all crane and site work if desired.
“Repairs are much less expensive than new gearbox costs, and with this program there is complete visibility of refurbished and new unit inventory. The traditional repair cycle is virtually eliminated. It’s a win-win for the customer. Availability goes way up and downtime is reduced,” said Head of Moventas Operations, Steve Casey.
Moventas stores gearboxes fully accessorized, thus minimizing turbine downtime and exchange costs, and in many cases, replacement gearboxes are on site within days. As the damaged gearbox is removed, the replacement gearbox is installed using the same crane and service team reducing costs for customers.
“Why settle for participating in a pool that only services half of your fleet? We’ve spoken to the majority of wind farm owners and the message is clear. Wind farm owners want to participate in a gearbox repair pooling program that meets the needs of their entire fleet and offers new gearbox options to make up for catastrophic failures. Moventas is the only company that can do that,” commented Mike Grunow, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Moventas Americas.
Mainshafts can be repaired and pooled with the gearboxes under the same terms and extended warranty options. Should a broken gearbox be deemed unusable, Moventas said it will credit customers for the useable parts and sell them a brand new unit that contains industry leading case-carburized ring gears which enable maximum life and ensure the feasibility of less expensive uptower repairs.
In addition, Moventas also accepts and has successfully reverse engineered, repaired, overhauled, upgraded and supplied many popular gearboxes from other manufacturers.
Image: Moventas