GE ENERGY'S PLANT IN SALZBERGEN INAUGURATES NEW WIND TURBINE MOVING LINE

GE Energy's wind business yesterday officially opened a new 80-ton, wind turbine "moving line" in its Salzbergen manufacturing facility that will help to meet increased global demand for wind turbines.

This moving line is a 42-meter rail system on which the turbines are continuously moved during production. It has been designed for the manufacture of both GE 1.5 and multi-megawatt wind turbines, and offers a 30% increase in capacity along with quality and safety improvements. The efficiency of the line will enable GE to reduce its inventory by 40% at the Salzbergen plant. A key feature of the new moving line is its capability to detect abnormalities in wind turbine assembly and halt the manufacturing process until the issues are resolved. It can move at various speeds to accommodate different output levels.

"With the growing demand for wind power worldwide, it is critical for GE to get the highest possible levels of production out of our existing wind turbine manufacturing facilities," said Rainer Bröring, Managing Director of GE Energy's wind business in Germany. "The Salzbergen team began addressing this requirement three years ago, applying 'lean manufacturing' principles to the hub production area of the plant, transforming it into a model line. Motivated by the results of the model line, the team tackled the next challenge, the machine head line, a more diverse and complex product. The result is our new moving line, which first entered service in January of this year," Bröring added.