ZF Wind Power Launches Thrive – the Next Level in Service Partnering

• Thrive offers multiple services, all focusing on the need of the partner: partner training, workshop and field repair, spare parts management, and more. All components are equally important as all of them contribute to the complete service experience and optimal partner support.
• The new service concept comes with an online service platform that summarizes the power of Thrive: www.zfthrive.com. The website streamlines the service capabilities and simplifies the partner contacts.

ZF Wind Power launches Thrive, a proactive service concept that answers the diversity and dynamics of the wind market and helps wind park operators, OEMs and other partners getting the most out of wind power and the limitless renewable energy it generates.

With an increasing number of countries adopting a considerable share of wind energy into their energy mix, the wind market is turning into a mature market. To bring the Levelized Cost of Energy (LCoE) down, the major players in the wind industry find themselves in a race in which the winner is the turbine with the maximum annual power output for the given site conditions at the lowest investment cost. This market requirement asks for a unique and dedicated approach in servicing wind turbines.

Answering a need

The wind market is a dynamic market in which the diversity of wind turbines is a fact. All these systems, configurations and operational locations, with their specific geographical and meteorological conditions, influence the right type of service concept. “With the development of Thrive, we’ve created a service concept that helps our partners to get the most from both wind power and their business. Our long-term investment in reliable gearboxes and associated digital solutions is one of the foundations for simultaneously avoiding and simplifying service interventions both onsite and offsite. It gives our partners more opportunities to optimize operations, “ says Sivakumar Jayapal, CSO of ZF Wind Power.

For continuous availability

Service is more than an organization or solving problems, it requires involvement and is a collaboration between all partners. “Service starts with designing reliable products, maximizing the use of common building blocks and reducing the need for different spare parts and services. It takes vision, commitment, and investments to maximize reliability, efficiency, and availability. These elements are the cornerstones of the partnerships we build with our relations,” explains Hans Akkermans, CCO of ZF Wind Power.

Thrive is a new service concept that helps wind park operators get the maximum out of their investments. All the elements of a traditional service company remain: the knowledgeable personnel, all the daily support and training customers need, a global service and manufacturing infrastructure. But Thrive doesn’t stop there. Thanks to pioneering digital solutions, this service concept stands for optimizing operations in a proactive way and not just maintaining turbines in a reactive manner. “We have x-rayed the entire service approach and we connected products, processes, and digital concepts for maximum availability and increased output. Our experience and knowledge gathered from more than 150 GW of history is a fundamental cornerstone of how our new service will thrive for continuous availability and peace of mind for customers, “ summarizes Sivakumar Jayapal, CSO of ZF Wind Power.

Based on gearbox domain knowledge and data analytics

With ZF’s ‘Services Powered by Analytics’ the company has built vast experience classifying CMS alerts, using gearbox domain knowledge and data analytics. State-of-the-art analytics combine data from gearbox manufacturing and life-cycle monitoring with advanced reliability models to enable spare parts optimization. That means tangible benefits like reduced downtime, a fast return to operations, increased availability, and more energy production from every turbine without compromising their operational lifetime. This all adds up to a reduction in the levelized cost of energy. The combination of lower cost of energy, optimized energy output per turbine and extended gearbox lifetime contributes to a significantly lower overall cost of ownership for wind farms in the years to come. “In fact, our predictive maintenance philosophy extends the lifetime of the gearbox – and helps operators to spread their investment accurately and more comfortably over time”, says Dr. Joris Peeters, Head of Digitalization.

www.zfthrive.com – one click to peace of mind

Thrive includes a range of tasks that match the company’s products and vision. All tasks are equally important as all components in the service offering create a full experience and optimal partner support. Uptower and field repairs, workshop repairs, digitalization and genuine spare parts are the backbone of a strong service concept.

The capabilities of Thrive are bundled on www.zfthrive.com. This digital platform summarizes, but does not limit, the power of Thrive. On this platform, visitors can contact their local service partner and they are able to select a replacement gearbox out of an international gearbox pool which will be installed within five days. By doing so, Thrive guarantees its partners continuous availability of gearboxes, spare parts, services, and energy output.