This week: Interview with Jürgen Schimohr, Manager Competence Center Wind Power Industry, Plarad - Maschinenfabrik Wagner GmbH & Co.KG

Windfair: Is the wind energy industry a priority for your company? How so?

Jürgen Schimohr: The wind energy sector represents one of the most important industries for Maschinenfabrik Wagner and its world-renowned Plarad brand. For more than two decades now, this has been the industry with the greatest potential and the highest growth rate. Offering first class quality and the world’s most comprehensive range of products and services in the area of bolting technology, Plarad represents a competent partner for the wind power industry.


Windfair: How many employees does your company have?

Jürgen Schimohr: Maschinenfabrik Wagner employs a total of 130 people at its headquarters in Much, Germany, and in its subsidiaries in the USA, Turkey, England, Italy and offices in China, Austria, France and Poland. In addition, Plarad maintains a strong presence throughout the world with exclusive representatives and distributors for local sales and service.


Windfair: How many of those employees are dedicated to wind energy?

Jürgen Schimohr: We established the Wind Power Competence Team especially for this sector several years ago. It includes sales engineers, application technicians, designers, electronics specialists and service technicians, and works exclusively for the wind industry on a worldwide basis. So every area is covered – from the design phase through to specialised services and training. This enables us to respond rapidly to customer needs and provide competent support in case of problems. Moreover, every Plarad employee in Germany and abroad is involved in one way or another and provides valuable support to the Wind Power Competence Team.


Windfair: Do you have any new or upcoming wind energy-related products or services?

Jürgen Schimohr: Yes, and we are constantly developing our products and services, and recognize the importance of continuously improving of our range for the emerging wind industry. To that end, we also cooperate with manufacturers, suppliers, universities and technical institutes in order to find the best solutions. One example is our control unit and pump control system for hydraulic equipment, which is used, among other things, for the documentation of bolting cases with special focus on the robust and practical configurations that are particularly well suited to wind power applications. This makes it possible to call up previously entered bolting cases easily, ensuring precise data: the system automatically controls and monitors the bolting process without the need for the operator to intervene.


Windfair: Do you have any special training programs for your employees?

Jürgen Schimohr: Yes, Maschinenfabrik Wagner continuously provides instruction and advanced training for its employees through internal and external training courses on a wide range of subjects. Safety plays an especially important role at Plarad. The Wind Power Competence Team has to receive regular instruction in the “use of personal protective equipment for working at heights” and in “rescue at heights”. This is indispensable because safety takes top priority during deployment at a wind turbine. Employees also regularly attend classes which prepare them to be trainers, so they can competently pass their expertise along to others.


Windfair: Tell us about your future developments. What can we expect in the next year or two?

Jürgen Schimohr: As a partner to the wind power sector from the outset, Maschinenfabrik Wagner has grown up together with the industry and continues to develop specialised know-how for its applications. We see ourselves continuing to work as competent advisors to this ever-ambitious industry in the future. And we will continue to expand our international presence in the future. Plarad will become more broadly positioned in the international markets, including overall expansion with new partners in Asia.


Windfair: Please tell us something about your presentation at the Windfair Technical Symposium this year. What can we expect?

Jürgen Schimohr: Our employee Klaus Teske, whose responsibilities include support for key account customers in the wind power sector, will trace an arc from onshore trends to the particularities of offshore applications. He will report on practical experience in bolting technology and present modern methods which can be used to solve current problems in this area through documentation. He will also discuss ways to address the increasingly demanding requirements placed on bolting technology.