On Thursday, September 22, 2011, The Switch will be presenting together with Moventas the FusionDrive® concept for 3MW+ wind turbines at the Windmesse.de Technik Symposium 2011.

What counts is the total cost, not purchase cost. This was one of the main themes that was identified at the international IQPC Wind Turbine Supply Chain management conference in August in Germany. Speaking about The Switch agility to meet market demand fluctuations at the conference, Simon Hewitt, Global Sourcing Manager at The Switch, discussed demands for greater manufacturing flexibility, an effective risk management strategy and ways to adapt the wind turbine supply chain to demand fluctuations.

As large wind parks pop up around the world in the race to meet renewable energy regulations, the rapid need for high-quality turbines and components for gigawatt energy generation puts an enormous strain on conventional production systems and the supply chain.

That’s why The Switch chose to implement a Model Factory concept to be able to flexibly respond to customer needs for volume production ramp ups and, if necessary, ramp downs. All production steps are tested and systematized in the Model Factory. Once perfected, the system is ready to be replicated at any location around the world, quickly enabling multi-site rollout for volume growth with repeatable and standardized quality, according to customer demand.

The growing global demand of rare earth metals combined with China’s ever-tightening grip on the material keep pushing up the magnet prices. While we at The Switch don’t think that the price trend can last for too long, we understand that the matter is of great concern for the wind power industry. To tackle with this alarming situation and to meet future needs, the industry needs to change its perspective to open up to new opportunities.

The Switch has done intense research and development to reduce the amount of magnets needed for the production of permanent magnet generators. Based on the successful testing of 20 different machine types, we are in a unique position to make third generation permanent magnet machines. By combining our extensive field experience with our state-of-the-art design methods, not only do we have the skills to produce classical machines but we can also bring new innovation to the permanent magnet generators field.

On Monday, August 29, 2011, The Switch will be presenting The Switch Model Factory approach to meet market demand fluctuations at the IQPC Wind Turbine Supply Chain Management Conference 2011.