Decision making process for wind tower manufacturers

Taiwan is establishing itself as one of the world’s fastest-growing new offshore wind markets and the Taiwanese manufacturers have been steadily getting ready to satisfy the production needs related to the projects to come. Following this tendency, several Taiwanese companies have recently visited Faccin’s factory in Visano, Italy to test their finished 4-rolls offshore-wind specially designed rolling machines before being shipped.

DECISIONAL PROCESS

Bending hundreds of cans every month can only be accomplished with a rolling package expressly designed to provide manufacturers with the reliability, precision and automation required in this type of manufacturing processes.

Taiwanese manufacturers like many others in the wind power business find themselves today in the situation they must take a decision on the purchase of a complete plate rolling line to produce offshore wind towers and are faced with multiple questions on how to make the right investment choice. What is the right approach for the acquisition of a plate rolling line? Which are the steps to follow to make the right choice?

The wind power market is incredibly complicated and diversified depending on the type of production to be pursued since there are many different production types in the wind business with multiple sub-categories.

The wind tower production is characterized by different technical requirements and determined mainly on where the towers will be placed, onshore or offshore, or the production of specifics parts, like wind tower doors which have very particular bending needs.

Offshore wind foundations are defined by different technical requirements depending on the type of structure, being monopile, jackets, tripod, gravity-based or floating foundations. Every type requires specific or dedicated equipment configurations to provide to the customer the most optimized solution for its needs.

Such various and complex production types require a precise decisional process to evaluate correctly all the variables, so it is of utmost importance to find suppliers with highly experienced teams that can guide the manufacturer to the most suitable solution.

INITIAL PROJECT EVALUATION

The most critical phase is to correctly define the production needs. Many times, the desired production outcome collides with the real capacity of the equipment available on the market.  Therefore, assessing accurately the production needs against the real capabilities of the equipment and the available budget is the first step to a successful conclusion of the project.

The reason wind power top players, from Taiwan and around the world choose Faccin at the very initial phase of their new projects, is because the company does not just act as a simple supplier; it works together with the customer as a consultant and a partner in the project. Faccin Group’s consulting team is always ready to share with the manufacturers, its long experience in the wind energy business based on a continued and dedicated training on the wind business trends, useful to evaluate the right investment considering the worldwide market tendencies in the wind energy business, and technical and commercial evaluation of the suitable solutions for the fabricator’s needs, from a dedicated technical evaluation of the project to precise budgeting to obtain the fastest return of investment.

TECHNICAL EVALUATION OF THE BENDING NEEDS

After a detailed evaluation of the production needs, it’s important to determine the right equipment to cope with most of the manufacturing requirements. Different plate rolling machines, have pros and cons depending on the rolling technology, accessories, structure, etc. so an accurate evaluation of these details will give the best technical solution combined perfectly with the fastest ROI.

Faccin Group has the largest range of products related to plate bending machines that can fully satisfy any kind of needs regarding productivity, capacities and budgets. In addition, it integrates 3 brands – Faccin, Roundo and Boldrini – and more than 200 years of combined experience in the bending world; the longest available on the market.

Furthermore, the company’s sales team is equipped to support the manufacturers from the initial decision phase, providing from the beginning the most critical technical and budgetary information, offering the possibility to have a fair technical comparison between the different solutions available on the market, and thus avoiding incorrect evaluation due to missing data.

SUPPLIER COMPLETE EVALUATION

After the technical evaluation concerning the plate rolling line specifications, the last important point is to find a supplier ready to support the manufacturer with a flexible lead time and a high level of service support.

Due to Faccin’s in-house production capabilities, the biggest available on the market compared to any other plate rolling machine manufacturer, the company can provide its customers with the most flexible production time and a top level technical service, ready to support the fabricators through highly experienced technicians and a vast spare part center dedicated to the customer’s needs.

CUSTOMIZED COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS

‘Faccin’s Wind Tower Automation System’ is designed to provide manufacturers with the reliability, precision and automation required in this type of manufacturing processes. The system can reach the floor to floor production time of 20min per rolled tube. It combines a powerful super-sized plate-rolling machine with key components like a strong side support, a sturdy top support and a feeding table with alignment device, all accessories controlled by a highly advanced fully programmable CNC designed to automate the most complex rolling projects.

Reliability, speed and accuracy must go hand to hand with costs reduction, and the job should be accomplished by a single operator using a CNC capable of controlling automatically not only the machine but also the handling system.

MAXIMIZING PROFITS

Our highly technological machines are designed to maximize the productivity; thus, the profitability of the wind tower cans manufacturer. All this is achieved by a precise and fast rolling machine, which helps reduce time in the following steps of the wind tower assembly and welding, an oversized reliable structure able to work 24/7 and a user-friendly CNC capable of handling automatically not only the machine but also the handling system.

The high level of supply availability and the lowest possible processing time is our priority.

Installation and training are always provided in order to develop our customers skills. It allows them to operate confidently and independently in their day-to-day business.

THE COMPANY

“Faccin is proud to have already supplied machines to the main players in Europe, USA and ASIA and to contribute to the green energy production. The company strongly believes in the future of the wind towers business onshore -particularly the offshore wind farms where the use of plate bending rolls is essential.”

Learn more about us and discover our latest developments by visiting our website www.faccin.com

Note: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Offshore WIND.