One year ago, ZF Wind Power launched Thrive, an all-encompassing service concept for wind park operators. With us is Sivakumar Jayapal, chief service officer for ZF Wind Power.

A written portion of this podcast is below but be sure to listen to the full episode on your preferred podcast service.

WPED: Sivakumar, when you look back at one year of Thrive, are you a happy man?

ZF Wind Power is a global leader in gearbox and powertrain production for the wind industry, we aim to empower a sustainable future with our partners. Our service supports our products. When we launched Thrive, we felt the market needed an all-encompassing service approach that helps wind park operators, OEMs and consumers get the most from wind power.

When I look back on the last year, I can only confirm it was a good idea to pioneer with the Thrive service agreements on this dynamic wind market. The fact we can deliver all types of services to guarantee continuous availability, creates some peace of mind for our partners. Thrive is enabled by digital solutions and it offers worldwide field repair, workshop services, spare parts management, partner training and a gearbox pool. It’s a global concept, with a regional and personal approach.

It’s a global concept, with a regional and even personal approach. Global and personal do not always go hand in hand. Can you explain how that works?

Sure, it starts with how we partner with our partners. We don’t see them as customers, we are business partners. We work as partners with our customers and tailor our offering to their preferences. There is no standard or fixed approach, we always develop a personalized package together with our partners which suits their business model, providing a choice to select any combination of our service offerings. If we feel our partner’s business only needs our support for spare parts management, we develop a spare parts package. You don’t need to pay for services your business doesn’t need… you only invest in these elements that make your business thrive. Thrive means “to prosper, to be fortunate” …. and we embody that definition through the power of our service.

We even support our partners to work as independent as possible. We provide them partner training, so they can serve their own business. Also, this training is not a standard training… it’s based on the needs of the partner. We have our own training centers where we welcome everyone for hands-on trainings from visual inspections to component exchanges. Or we travel to the wind site of our partner where we deliver on-site up-tower trainings. After every training the partner is fully certified, and he’ll be able to do to interventions at his own. This fastens the interventions and maximizes the turbine output.

So these personalized packages and personal partner training are your regional approach?

Oh no, this goes further.  Our worldwide service is only possible thanks to strong and experienced local service centers and teams. We have workshops spread all over the world, to guarantee short refurbish time. All of them are equipped with modern precision machineries, high class quality equipment and extremely skilled gearbox experts. Years of experience combined with strategic planning and scientific forecasting offer a lead time of only 90 days on the high runner gearboxes and the same guarantee as a new gearbox. Our logistic scope includes the pickup of repair gearboxes and the delivery of refurbished gearboxes to anywhere in the world. We convert the complex logistical system to very simple and worry-free transportation of gearboxes for our partners.

Does the recent partnership between ZF Wind Power, Vestas and ABS Wind fit in this regional approach?

Yes, a few months ago the three of us joined forces to meet the demands of regional partners in South America. With ABS Wind in Macaíba, Rio Grande do Norte, we take advantage of local resources and qualified professionals. This not only strengthens the local economy, but also guarantees high-quality service to partners in the region.
With the combination of global experience, regional resources and a commitment to sustainability, we offer high-quality services to enable continuous availability for our partners.

This podcast is sponsored ZF Wind Power

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