Small Details of Great Importance
a report by
SSP Technology A/S
Since 2001, the Danish-based company SSP Technology A/S has been
designing and manufacturing moulds and components for global
players in the wind industry. Today, SSP Technology is an innovator in
competitive blade manufacturing for wind turbines – from blade
design, to manufacture of moulds and blade components, to factory
layout and start-up. Skilled engineers and experienced production staff
work closely together to ensure that every product meets
the customer’s expectations – always in close co-operation with the
customer’s own team.
Facing the Challenges of the Future
The wind industry is maturing, and SSP Technology is as well. “We have
changed from being pioneers breaking new ground every day into being
a strong, experienced industrial company, who systematically researches
and develops in close dialogue with our global customers. From the
start-up in 2001, the focus has been on developing and supplying
cutting-edge wind turbine blade technology, based on simple yet
effective technologies,” says co-founder and CTO Flemming Sørensen.
Rune Schytt-Nielsen, also a co-founder of SSP Technology, explains:
“The wind turbine manufacturers of today face a number of challenges
and choices when deciding on a blade manufacturing strategy. First of
all, globalisation has to be tackled, taking customer requirements and
transportation issues of increasingly larger blades into account. Second
of all, although the blade is probably the most critical sole component
as regards total turbine cost and turbine performance, it is often not
part of the wind turbine manufacturers’ core competencies. Hence,
compromises in quality and blade performance are frequently made on
the alter of supply chain and standardisation.”
Tailor-made Solutions
The design of the blade is an integral part of the blade manufacturing
strategy. SSP Technology has introduced a holistic definition of
blade design including not only the aerodynamic design but also
structural design, choice of materials, method of production, design of
moulds and establishment of production and quality assurance (QA)
processes. This approach allows SSP Technology to tailor the optimum
blade for each customer, taking specific requirements and individual
circumstances into consideration.
The difference in performance and loads between a standard blade and
an SSP tailor-made blade can be significant. In fact, most surprisingly for
many customers, the total investment in blade design and manufacture
facilities is often lower with an SSP tailor-made blade, particularly
compared with a standard blade with a traditional root solution.
Furthermore, the optimised design of both blade and plant ensures
competitive blade costing for the SSP tailor-made blade. SSP Technology
always plans a blade design in close dialogue with its customer, and
is always very eager to ensure full visibility of objectives, timeline and cost.
“Investment in a new blade design is significant, with regard to both cost
and risk, and therefore an open planning phase with agreed objectives
and costing is mandatory in order to succeed,” says Sales Director Søren
Horn Petersen. “We regard ourselves as being part of our customers’
team as they strive to improve competitiveness in the market.”
