Lagerwey will train 44 specialists from Russia at their facility in Barneveld to implement joint projects later this year. This is part of a training programme that the Dutch wind turbine manufacturer launched together with NovaVind, a division of Russian Rosatom State Corporation, responsible for wind energy projects, in May this year.
Wind energy in Russia is still in its infancy. The country has no own wind turbine manufacturing yet. Rosatom is looking to acquire the necessary competencies which will allow the company and the country to create its own competitive product for the international market. For this purpose, in November 2017, NovaVind and Lagerwey announced the creation of a joint venture Red Wind B.V. At the moment, Lagerwey is transferring to NovaVind the technologies for the manufacturing of wind turbines with a capacity of 2.5 MW. In the long term, technology transfer for more powerful installations (4.5 MW) is expected as well.
Training programme
Lagerwey has developed the unique training program for the employees of NovaVind in cooperation with DOB-Academy. The training in Barneveld includes both theoretical and practical sessions including, face-to-face lectures, practical exercises, video courses, and real practice directly at the plant. In the training process, virtual reality technologies are used: a trainee wearing 3D glasses enters a virtual workshop where, using various tools, all assembly operations of wind power plant units are presented in a step-by-step manner.
Upon completion of the training, the specialists will start working in Volgodonsk in the south of Russia, where the country’s largest localization program for wind turbines is currently being implemented. Assembly production of wind turbine components is going to be launched this year, creating over 300 jobs in the high-tech engineering segment. Until the end of 2022, Rosatom plans to put a total capacity of around 1 GW into operation in four southern regions of Russia. The assembly of the first wind generators in Volgodonsk will take place with the participation of supervisors from Lagerwey.
Already a first group of Russian specialists completed their training in July at Lagerwey’s facility where they studied the features of the production of nacelles, hubs and platform-bases of wind turbine towers. The trainees were also told about the specifics of manufacturing process management in the Netherlands. According to them, at the Lagerwey plant, workplace assessment is carried out in a simplified format compared to Russia: workshops are arranged in a compact way, there is no intermediate production control; at the same time, a high level of production culture is clearly visible, and the key training method in Lagerwey is mentoring. Two more groups of specialists from NovaVind (the first – until the end of August, the second – until the end of October) will accomplish their training in the manufacturing of generators. (Photo: Lagerwey)
