The existing management teams, led by CEO’s David Fletcher and Anders Røpke, will continue to lead their respective businesses in this growth market.
There remains a continued focus on producing more energy from renewable sources to drive down global carbon emissions in the coming years. This together with the cost of wind energy production being comparable to the cost of producing energy from fossil fuels, means that wind energy is becoming an increasingly attractive option. As a result, the number of wind turbines is forecast to grow at c.8% per annum over the next five years.
GEV provides field blade repair and maintenance services to wind farm manufacturers and operators in the UK, Europe and the US, operating both onshore and in challenging offshore environments. Wind turbine blades are susceptible to erosion and weather damage, which affects aerodynamic efficiency and reduces their energy production (and can sometimes stop the turbine operating altogether). GEV specializes in providing highly qualified technicians to repair blades, reducing downtime and maximizing production. It has repaired over 5,000 turbines to date and with turbines increasing in size and rotating faster, making them more prone to damage, GEV has a vital role to play in supporting the growth and ensuring wind turbines keep spinning.
Based in Denmark, the home of wind turbine technology, WPL provides world class blade expertise and machine learning enabled services for all wind farm park owners, irrespective of the number of turbines they operate. Asset managers worldwide can utilize WPL servicesfor identification of blade defects anddata driven blade repair recommendations. By accessing WPL services, clients are able to optimize their blade maintenance strategies and ultimately reduce costs and maximizeproduction.
The organization will operate with a global footprint and be able to provide a comprehensive range of cost effective predictive blade maintenance services. The merger will also create the only independent service provider able to provide services to the whole rotor blade value chain and introduce to a wider client base new technologies such as blade internal drone inspections.
The combined Group is backed by Bridges Fund Management, a specialist private equity investor focused on the transition to a more sustainable and inclusive economy.
David Fletcher, CEO of GEV, says, “Over the last few years GEV has established itself as a global market-leader in wind turbine blade repair and maintenance. We are now excited to be merging with WPL as we embark on our next growth phase and look to provide technology enabled solutions to help our clients be smarter about their long term blade blademaintenance strategies.”
Anders Røpke, CEO of WPL, added, “Access to high caliber blade expertise is key for any wind turbine owner, in order to decide on blade repair scope and maintenance strategies. At WPL we make sure owners only repair what is needed, when it is needed, saving both time, money and unnecessary down time for our clients. We are excited to be merging with GEV in order to further assist our clients by offering a complete blade maintenance solution.”
