Serving the Teesside Business Community | 31
GENERATION X
Tees Components
playing key role in new
wind power generator
By Dave Allan
A
n award-winning Tees engineering
firm has sealed a contract to help
manufacture a direct drive generator
identified as a potential game-changer for the
wind turbine market by industry experts.
Tees Components is working in strategic
collaboration with Southend-based
GreenSpur Renewables, specialists in
electromagnetic engineering, to take the
new low-cost direct drive permanent magnet
generator (PMG) to the booming offshore
wind turbine market.
Sharon Lane, the North Skelton firm’s
managing director, revealed that winning a
contract for such ground-breaking work had
created a buzz among the firm’s workforce.
Recently crowned Teesside Business
Executive of the Year and shortlisted for Tees
Businesswoman of the Year, Sharon said:
“Our staff are very excited at being involved
in the development of this revolutionary
generator concept.
“Working with customers to develop
innovative new concepts is something that
we like to do. We have the staff, facilities
and a variety of skillsets that we bring to the
table.”
Andrew Hine, commercial director at
GreenSpur, added: "Scaling up short-term
production in the UK could create 200 new
manufacturing jobs plus a further 70 in the
supply chain. If the technology is deployed at
the two-to-three gigawatt level, it could lead
to the creation of over 3,000 new UK jobs.”
The contract to work on the direct drive
generator came as a result of a chance
meeting between Sharon and Greenspur
director Alex Freeman at the Global
Offshore Wind conference and exhibition in
Manchester. Tees Components went on to
bid for and win the contract to supply and
assemble the new generator design.
The firm’s electrical and mechanical
engineers are now working in partnership
with engineers from Greenspur and ORE
Catapult – the UK’s leading technology
innovation and research centre for offshore
renewable energy - to source materials and
produce each precision component as the
prototype design is developed.
GreenSpur Renewables has developed
the world's first ferrite-based direct drive
permanent magnet generator capable of
reliable multi-megawatt generation. It is a
low-cost innovation that replaces scarce and
expensive rare earth magnets with cheap
and abundant ferrite magnets. The design
has been identified as a game-changer by the
Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.
Tees Components MD Sharon Lane are
working with GreenSpur to create a game-
changer for the wind turbine market.
Manufacture and assembly of the pre-
production 250-kilowatt stage of a one-
megawatt unit are well underway in North
Skelton, with the project on target for testing
scheduled at ORE Catapult early in 2019.
While Tees Components have a long-held
reputation for precision machining of large,
complex components, less well known is
the North Skelton firm’s capability for project
management and complete supply.
The long-established company can offer a
complete solution to niche, one-off projects,
thanks to facilities that include two East
Cleveland sites comprising eight acres,
various areas of hard standing, assembly
workshops, secure storage areas and
overhead lifting – in addition to experienced
and skilled mechanical and electrical
engineers.
With the machining and fabrication
facilities at its disposal and a well-resourced
procurement team, Tees Components is able
to undertake most processes on its own
sites and maintain complete control of the
project.
The Greenspur contract is just one of a
range of projects contributing to an order
book that’s currently at an all-time high.
Sharon commented: “We are seeing
high demand from all sectors – nuclear,
decommissioning, renewables, marine and
defence.”
To meet the ongoing demand, the firm
has continued to invest in new machining
capacity, while it currently has vacancies
for experienced CNC setter-operators to
support its growth. Tees Components is
also inviting applications for a new business
administration apprentice and less qualified
machinists who have completed an
apprenticeship.
For more information about Tees
Components, visit their website at
teescomponents.co.uk
Rewarding loyal staff
Tees Components recently celebrated its
55th year of operation with an employee
recognition event at Hunley Hall Golf Club.
The event included long service awards,
while fourth year electrical engineering
apprentice Ben Marshall received the
Simon Jones-sponsored Apprentice of
the Year Award from production manager
Steve Horner.
Expert machinist Martin Duddles
received the Extra Mile Award for
exceeding customers’ requirements,
while Emma Glover won the Employees’
Vote Award.