Our B75 journey
One single product – one giant leap for future generations of Siemens Gamesa blades
Denmark / 7 October 2019
In the early summer of 2019, the blade manufacturing plant at Aalborg, Denmark, sent out the last B75 blade made at the facility. This blade, also known as number 750182800, was the last in a series of 2,285 casted blades created at the plant. Its departure through the factory gates is, however, the beginning of an even more exciting journey – ushering in the next generation of blades at Siemens Gamesa.
For the blade plant in Aalborg, Denmark, sending out the last B75 blade feels a lot like a beloved child growing up and leaving the family home. “It’s filling all of us with a strange feeling – we are sad, but proud at the same time,” says Finn Brandborg Soerensen, Head of Offshore Blade production at the Aalborg plant. And no wonder – since the first B75 blade was taken out of the mold in January 2012, the factory has produced 2,285 casted blades, including blades made for examination and used for the prototype wind turbine installed at the Oesterild test center in Denmark.
The total number of B75 blades made globally is 3,366 - to put it into perspective, if all those blades were all placed in a row, it would be 252 kilometers long! And if that is not impressive enough, the B75 blades produced in Siemens Gamesa can cover the surface of 256 football fields, weigh as much as 12,466 elephants and, most importantly, have contributed to reducing the equivalent carbon emissions of around 70 million energy consumers!
The total number of B75 blades made globally is 3,366 - to put it into perspective, if all those blades were all placed in a row, it would be 252 kilometers long! And if that is not impressive enough, the B75 blades produced in Siemens Gamesa can cover the surface of 256 football fields, weigh as much as 12,466 elephants and, most importantly, have contributed to reducing the equivalent carbon emissions of around 70 million energy consumers!
Setting the highest manufacturing standards
As the predictable and timely delivery of products is vital for a company across all levels, the production capacity established at Aalborg was also exceptional because it set high manufacturing standards for the other Siemens Gamesa blade plants around the world. “We are also talking about the end of B75 production with pride because it has served an example of teamwork between functions since the early stages of product development,” says Peter Birkegaard, Head of the Aalborg plant.
“Closing this chapter of our incredible journey has left room for innovation and living up to our values as a company,” adds Peter Birkegaard. “Our biggest achievement is that our platform allows us to grow, transform, and become even more digital,” he says, before elaborating that thanks to the B75 experience, Siemens Gamesa is now able to live up to the strategic goals for next blade generations.
“Closing this chapter of our incredible journey has left room for innovation and living up to our values as a company,” adds Peter Birkegaard. “Our biggest achievement is that our platform allows us to grow, transform, and become even more digital,” he says, before elaborating that thanks to the B75 experience, Siemens Gamesa is now able to live up to the strategic goals for next blade generations.
“In Aalborg, we can now manufacture new products significantly ahead of the learning curve, so we can then ramp up globally in other blade manufacturing facilities like the Siemens Gamesa plants in Hull, England, and Lingang, China, as we have done with the B75 blade,” he explains.
What truly amazes me is the giant leap we have made together as a company in only four years! From solving production challenges in Aalborg in 2015 to having more than 3,300 world-class B75 blades made globally between Aalborg, Hull and Lingang until 2019 - just imagine what we can achieve with our blade types in the future!
Plant Manager Hull
Developing global expertise
When it comes to important lessons learned, the B75 played a big role at all Siemens Gamesa blade facilities. For example, for our Lingang plant it meant focusing on our three key areas – safety, quality and cost-out. “Let’s not forget that since the inauguration of the Lingang blade plant ten years ago, we have accumulated the needed expertise to manufacture world-class blades that support our business growth in Asia-Pacific. We have also successfully contributed to the development of our local suppliers, which is very important to us as a global company,” says Qiangqi Song, General Manager of Siemens Gamesa’s Lingang plant.
As about the Siemens Gamesa plant in Hull, since September 2015 everyone hired, trained and put to work in the facility has been contributing to the B75 product. Locally, the blade factory has been a catalyst for the greater Hull area and the blade was the centerpiece for the UK City of Culture celebrations in 2017. “For us as a team, B75 production was also a brilliant way to teach all our teams about sustainable improvements in the blade manufacturing process,” tells Ralph Sperrazza, Plant Manager Hull. “But what truly amazes me is the giant leap we have made together as a company in only four years! From still solving production challenges in Aalborg in 2015 to having more than 3,300 world-class B75 blades made globally between Aalborg, Hull and Lingang until 2019 - just imagine what we can achieve with our blade types in the future!”
