An independent service provider to the North American wind industry says it is now a certified Authorized Service Provider (ASP) for Winergy Drive Systems Corp., USA. Winergy offers a range of components for the wind turbine drive train including gearboxes, couplings, and generators.
To gain ASP Certfication, a team of Availon’s engineers and technicians attended extensive training at the Winergy Plant in Elgin, Ill. The subject of hands-on training was the up-tower gearbox repair for GE 1.5-MW wind turbines. As a result, Availon’s personnel are certified in borescope services for identifiying gear and bearing damage inside the gearbox, high-speed bearing replacement, high-speed shaft replacement, intermediate-speed bearing replacement (generator side only), intermediate-speed shaft replacement, low-speed bearing replacement (generator side only), and pitch-tube replacement and repair.
All work performed by factory-trained Availon technicians is covered under the Winergy standard one-year warranty. In addition to the certified services, Availon is stocking Winergy-manufactured parts needed for repair and replacement of gearbox components at Availon’s Service and Distribution Centers in Des Moines, Iowa and Sweetwater, Texas. Availon and Winergy plan to continue training and certfing workers to let Availon’s wind technicians perform up-tower services for other wind turbine brands and makes.
“The gearbox is the central component of the drive system,“ says John Brown, Availon North America’s Special Projects Manager and a Winergy-certified technician. “If any component in it has been damaged, the entire drive system may be compromised causing serious loss of production. Availon‘s ability to do up-tower gearbox repairs has tremendous value because it helps cut crane cost and significantly reduces a turbine’s downtime,“ says Brown.
Availon Inc.
www.availon.com
Filed Under: Gearboxes, News