Avrasya Rüzgar, offering repair and maintenance services for wind turbines, blades, towers, and tower interior equipment, provides solutions for globally leading companies. The company is a solution partner in the wind energy industry with its experienced and expert team. Avrasya Rüzgar General Manager Buğra Akbıyık shared the details of their services and goals with Rüzgar Enerjisi Magazine in the interview we conducted.

Could you please inform us about your experience in the Wind Energy market in Turkey?

Eawind (Avrasya Rüzgar) was established in 2010 as the successor of KompoTek, Composite Technologies, which had many years of experience in composite blade and mold production as well as composite boat building. With this experience, Eawind began serving international customers for their turbines in Turkey in 2010 for blade service, being one of the first in the market.

What services do you offer to your customers?

The main services we offer are “blade repair” and “blade retrofitting.” As a wind turbine gets older, like a human being, the components such as blades, which are exposed to environmental changes, age, leading to the need for repairs. We also provide tower repairs and coatings as well as tower internal works, such as servicing hoists, winches, and ladder systems.

How are your technicians trained?

We have our own training center and are licensed to conduct GWO (Global Wind Organisation) trainings. We train and license our technicians in “Blade Repair” and “Basic Safety Training.” Additionally, we provide other extra internal trainings that our technicians undergo. Depending on our customers’ requests, there are also external training opportunities for our technicians.

Are these trainings open to other companies?

Yes, we offer GWO Blade Repair and GWO BST modules to other companies as well as freelance technicians. Our Training Center is in Izmir, Turkey, which is a perfect seaside location with direct flights to many European cities. We welcome many trainees from Germany and Greece as well as countries from the Middle East and North Africa.

Who are your main customers and partners in your region and in Europe?

We are an approved ISP (International Service Provider) for Enercon, NordexAcciona, and SiemensGamesa Renewable Energy. Our technicians are trained to the highest standards by these companies. We also service Vestas, GE, Suzlon, and Sinovel turbines mostly on the customer side. Windsourcing of Hamburg is one of our partners in Europe, from whom we supply materials for servicing, and we offer our customers their product range. With our storage capabilities, we can keep composite raw materials for our customers. We also work with Mankiewicz Coatings of Hamburg, which has a location and storage capabilities in Turkey. This is extremely helpful when transporting chemical materials to Turkey is sometimes challenging.

What were the important steps your company took in the past to improve service quality?

Starting from 2014, we were the first company to use Temporary Suspended Platforms (TSPs) for working on the blades and towers of wind turbines. Understanding the importance of platforms, we joint-ventured with a German company and produced these platforms in our production line in Izmir. We are currently working on a new platform design aimed at increasing the efficiency of servicing time. Additionally, we were one of the first companies to establish our own Training Facility for our technicians, including GWO accreditation and other ISO accreditations. I believe these were the most important steps to improve service quality.

Are you planning service operations in Europe as well?

As an ISP for major turbine manufacturers like Enercon and NordexAcciona, we are eager to serve customers in Europe. Through our Germany-based company, Eawind GmbH, we provide comprehensive services to Europe.

We would like to thank Rüzgar Enerjisi Magazine for the interview.

TUİZ Wind, which was founded in 2021 in order to provide services for installation, maintenance and service projects, which are essential parts of the wind energy industry, provides innovative wind solutions and reshapes the future of the industry with the experience of its founders and employees in the energy industry for many years. With its experience in many installation, maintenance and service projects in different locations around the world, TUİZ has made a considerable contribution to the industry and keeps a close eye on new technologies to ensure a higher standard of service that is open to development and to contribute to the advancement of the industry. The company aims to become a pioneer in the global energy industry by reshaping the wind energy future, and to this end, it offers solutions with cutting-edge technology and engineering. With customer satisfaction and trust at the core of its solutions, the references of TUIZ include industry-leading organizations like Borusan Logistics, Enercon, SOWI, Vestas, Sarılar Group, General Electric, Kalyon, Nordex, Siemens Gamesa, Goldwind, Senvion and LEITWIND.

Specialist TUIZ solutions

Installation:

TUİZ, which provides installation services with a dedicated team with more than 15 years of experience in Enercon, Vestas, Siemens, GE and Nordex wind turbines, carries out the installation of all types and models of wind turbines and undertakes project management from scratch.

Service maintenance:

In order to identify damages or problems in the early stages and reduce the time for repair and downtime to a bare minimum, it is necessary to conduct repeated inspections and maintenance of all components of a wind turbine. In this area, TUİZ provides a premium level of service and carries out all the maintenance in line with the manufacturer’s maintenance guidelines.

Network connection service:

TUİZ, ensures that all operations such as in-turbine cable connections, cable installation, panel connections, transformer connections, and other operations are conducted securely and in a high-quality manner with its specialized team of technical experts.

Main Component Replacement:

The turbines’ key parts such as the generator, gearbox, rotor blade, powertrain, yaw/pitch system, transformer, and top tower parts must be upgraded during their lifetime. TUİZ’s highly experienced upgrade team quickly and efficiently performs this demanding task.

Technical support:

During the project duration of the wind farm, the company provides support to its customers through its supervisors.

Disposal:

The specialized TUİZ technical team also provides solutions for the recycling of the blades.

Port and site operations:

TUİZ conducts loading/unloading activities on project sites, production plants and port plants in a safe manner with the sling and pointer training certificates of the technical crew.

Turbine supervision:

The inspection of turbines is performed through unplanned interim checks, observations before and after maintenance, and reports are shared with clients.

Service elevator installation:

The specialized TUİZ technical team also offers installation services for service elevators and conducts annual inspections.

For the last 13 years, Katwind Enerji (www.katwind.com) has been at the forefront of the wind energy sector, specializing in composite repair services for wind turbine blades and steel structures. Our commitment to excellence and sustainable energy solutions has been a driving force in our growth and global impact.

Comprehensive Project Management Expertise

Beyond repair services, Katwind Enerji excels in project and site management within the wind energy sector. Our skilled teams have been instrumental in realizing over 2000 MW of wind energy projects nationally and internationally. Recently, despite placing second in a turnkey wind turbine procurement tender, we have been chosen by the winning company to manage site operations, affirming our site management expertise.

Strategic Growth and Market Expansion

Our service division aims to generate profit, expand into new markets, and reduce environmental pollution from fossil fuels. Operating with 10 teams, our workforce increases to 40 technicians during peak seasons. While facing competition from both local and global firms, we leverage our niche expertise and strategic investments.

We have invested in man-basket cranes and high-access platforms to support growth, enhancing our capabilities for high-altitude projects. Partnering with a crane firm, we transferred equipment rights and secured long-term access to their fleet, ensuring we remain competitive.

Preparing for International Markets

As we expand, we are getting our teams ready for international operations. We have made substantial progress in negotiations with a German company, to provide services in Germany’s wind energy sector. We are enhancing our personnel’s language skills and ensuring they meet EU qualifications, aiming to have at least two teams operational in Germany by next year.

Innovation Through Robotics and Technology

Katwind Enerji leads the way in robotic R&D initiatives, developing robots for autonomous blade and tower cleaning. We are also exploring autonomous equipment for turbine tower maintenance with ongoing R&D efforts.

We invested in a cloud-based software solution to improve operational efficiency, enabling our employees to log detailed task information from mobile devices and generating valuable data for our operations.

Resilience and Global Reach

Katwind Energy has provided project management and maintenance services across several countries, including Germany, Jordan, Croatia, Pakistan, Japan, Morocco, and Ukraine. Despite the ongoing conflict, we maintain our presence in Ukraine, securing agreements with two major turbine manufacturers and negotiating further contracts with the country’s largest wind energy investment company. Additionally, we are exploring opportunities in Uzbekistan to expand our global presence.

Expertise in Material Supply

Katwind Enerji has developed significant know-how in wind blade repair materials. Through our partnership with Rasswind (https://www.rasswind.com/en/-products–k), we meet material requests through a specialized web portal. Recently, we fulfilled three requests from Pakistan and Chile  and received one from Morocco while actively