Lars Bendsen joins the spotlight to discuss how AC883 helps operators source turbine parts to cut costs and reduce downtime. AC883 can offer faster response times and better pricing than manufacturers based in Europe. Lars shares how his company's approach helps prevent extended turbine downtime by providing quick access to critical components.

Fill out our Uptime listener survey and enter to win an Uptime mug!

Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly email update on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard's StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary Barnes' YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us!

Allen Hall: In the wind industry, a turbine standing still often means one thing, waiting for parts that should be readily available. This week on the uptime spotlight, we're joined by Lars Benson of AC 8 83, which is based in Canada. AC883 has direct connections to manufacturers in Denmark where most critical worm turbine components are actually produced Lars shares, house site operators can cut costs and dramatically reduce downtime by bypassing the OEM middleman and sourcing parts directly from the original suppliers.

Welcome to Uptime Spotlight, shining Light on wind Energy's brightest innovators. This is the progress powering tomorrow.

Allen Hall: Lars, welcome back to the show. Thank you. Spare Parts is a huge issue all over the world, but it seems like in the US and Canada, there's always a shortage. They're looking for spare parts. They don't know where to get them, and the easy answer has been to call the original equipment manufacturer in terms of the GE Vestus Siemens, cesa, Nordex, whoever that may be, and just to place a order.

There are other opportunities out there. What happens when a wind side in Texas just decides to buy from the wind turbine manufacturer? How much are they paying overpaying for that part?

Lars Bendsen: I can't say exactly on on dollars and cents, but but we know the markup from the OEMs.

Then they're not shy of earning money on that, those parts. And yeah, so it's very simple. We can get those parts directly from Europe directly from the suppliers to the OEMs.

Allen Hall: Yeah. And if I'm an operator, and I haven't been over to Denmark to look at the situation there, a significant number of critical parts are actually manufactured in Denmark or in the surrounding areas.

You have no way of knowing that if you own the turbine,

Lars Bendsen: that's true. You don't. Somehow the OEMs have been really good and keeping a bit of cloud cloudy around that area. It's actually pretty simple. They all produced either in in Denmark and Germany for basically all turbines. GE turbines is a target turbine from Germany that that they bought back when.

So that's why sim that's a German turbine as well. It's not a US turbine at all.

Allen Hall: And the supply chain has remained that way for a long time.

Lars Bendsen: It's a BP parts. It's standard parts. There's no rocket sites in it. Of course, there's some legacy some software parts and stuff that we could be desk, some, what we call it electronic boards, which software on, of course we can't do that.

That's fair enough, right? That's actually where the OOM has its value. That's totally good.

Joel Saxum: I think part of the reason that you see this, that gap there in the industry is the simple fact that, and I don't take this as a slight Lars because I love your website and what you guys do for marketing and branding, but in that corner of the world, and Alan, you and I were just talking about this couple of German companies we're talking about they're not that good at global branding and global marketing.

As a unit like culturally, so you don't see really what's going on almost behind t...