23.06.2015

Palfinger enters US Wind market

Palfinger has formed a joint venture with Fairwind of Lawton, Oklahoma for servicing wind turbines. The new company is FairWind Renewable Energy Services which Palfinger owns a controlling 51 percent stake.

Fairwind employs 25 trained specialists for the servicing of wind and oil industry equipment. The new joint venture will specialise exclusively in the maintenance of wind energy plants. It already owns a number of truck mounted lifts, including a 103 metre Palfinger WT1000 and a 70 metre Socage, both of which are rented out for general work.

In a first step, Palfinger will supply aerial work platforms as well as providing stability and financial power to the new business so that it can quote and support long-term contracts. The new company will be managed by Fairwind’s owners Brett Bain and Brian Edwards and will begin operations next week.

In a statement the crane and access equipment manufacturer said: “The use of large access platforms can double or even triple the efficiency of service and maintenance work. To date, workman baskets or rope access technicians have been the main methods of access."

“The wind service industry has grown significantly in the USA and Canada. All in all, there are now more than 60,000 onshore wind turbines requiring regular cleaning, routine service, blade repairs, painting and inspections. In order to enhance efficiency, large access platforms have been gradually ousting traditional methods in the USA."

Palfinger chief executive Herbert Ortner added: “This joint venture will open up an additional high-growth sales market for Palfinger’s large access platforms in North America. What we and the owners and managers of Fairwind have in common is a similar corporate culture. To us, this joint venture is a forward integration in the world’s largest market."
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Fairwind's Palfinger WT1000

Vertikal Comment

This is an interesting development from Palfinger. The market for – or rather the availability of - the largest truck mounted lifts in the USA is limited (although there are plenty of large insulated models working with transmission line contractors) this in spite of the size of the country and the range of applications.

With very few purpose-built aerial lifts over 70 metres available there is little recorded demand and therefore very few companies investing in them. Notable exceptions include TGM and Abilene High Lift in Texas, with the former running a fleet of 70 and 90 metre Brontos, while Abilene runs the rare 100 metre Ruthmann TTS 1000. UK based Blade has also opened an office in Delaware and is actively looking to offer the same services as Fairwind Renewables.

Fairwind is a young company which has already expended rapidly and would probably struggle - or at least be reluctant to take the risk - with funding more large truck mounts. Palfinger is almost certainly hoping that by supporting the venture it can help spur the market on for this type of lift.
This is also not the first time that it has ventured ‘downstream’ rather than being a pure product manufacturer. In 2013 it acquired UAE and Qatar rope access specialist Megarme which provides specialist staff, many of them abseilers, to carry out repairs and maintenance on ships and oil rigs. It is also very active in the wind market, building folding cranes that fit within the nacelle of large offshore turbines.

However the danger will be that it puts off other rental or service companies that might be looking to enter the market. It has almost certainly considered this and decided that it has little to lose, and if its actions help the market to take off it can always sell its shares in the FairWind Renewables operation. Sometimes when sufficient independent companies will not invest in a concept, manufacturers can play a critical role in kick starting the market. There are plenty of positive examples in the access market. This is probably a sound move for both parties.