In 2016, wind energy overtook coal as the European Unions' second largest form of power capacity. As per the report published by the WindEurope's Central Scenario, 323 GW of cumulative wind energy capacity would be installed in the European Union (EU) by 2030, which includes 253 GW onshore and 70 GW offshore capacity. The wind energy industry would invest €239 billion by 2030 and provide employment to 569,000 people.

At Sarens, we will continue playing a key role in this market to support our clients in the most efficient way. The market has high potential but is equally dynamic. To strategise our wind policy, we have changed our organisational set-up to be closer to our clients, both commercially and operationally and to serve projects with locally tailor-made solutions, managed by our specialised and passionate regional wind team.

The objective of this wind team is to integrate Sales, Operation, and Project Execution in order to provide the most attractive solutions and the best operational results. To optimally manage this organisational transition at the initial stage, Sarens has appointed two of our key people, Mariusz Sudol who will focus on Eastern European activities and Benjamin Noé who will coordinate Western Europe. They will simultaneously aim at bringing both Eastern and Western Europe Sarens Wind service up to the highest market standards.

We spoke to Mariusz and Benjamin to understand the new structure and how it will benefit the clients: 

How do you see the wind market and how important is this sector for Sarens?

The wind market is one of the key markets for Sarens in Europe. The wind energy market has been one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic industries in Europe. The regulations, demand and other attributes keep changing in every country. We have signed frame agreements with wind manufactures and several cranes are deployed at project sites, three year in a row. From the financial point of  view wind market bring us good turnover. Most importantly, it gives an opportunity of smaller business units of Sarens where when we have a couple of projects we can efficiently execute the job by training local crew as and when required. 

What solutions does Sarens offer for the wind sector?

Catering to the increasing demand of the wind sector, Sarens has developed some of the most efficient solutions. Our innovative solution - the PC3800-1, the focused crane for wind related projects, was developed together by Sarens in collaboration with engineers from Terex. This crane was developed to overcome the challenges of the regular NT cranes. The NT cranes

We also have 2 brand new Liebherr LG1750 SX  which were specially designed for the wind industry.  One of them is currently being transported to Australia and the other will cater to the European market.

We have specifically configured cranes for wind related operations like the CC3800 boom booster as well as the TC/CC 2800-1 with LF jib which have been successfully deployed in the past. The  LTM1750 is another crane which is successfully working for the sector and is highly recommended by the clients. 

How does Sarens tackle the market dynamics?

Our talented sales managers dedicated for wind observe their respective regions carefully and collaborate with internal departments to come up with efficient solutions that match the budget and timelines of the client.  The wind market in Europe is very dynamic, for example, in 2015 it was a boom for wind jobs in Poland later on in UK and now its going down for quantity close to zero, whereas in the meantime we have completed so many jobs in Germany and good numbers in France. In 2018, it is estimated that Spain will see a boom of wind jobs and we are already part of the market ready to take-up the challenges.

We are already completing projects in Denmark, Belgium, and Netherlands, and expanding our activities in Sweden. We are also bidding for some good jobs in Russia along with closely monitoring the Eastern European market.

What are the challenges associated with a wind job and how do we address them?

Wind jobs are not very complicated from technical point of view but when we start talking about logistics associated with the job, then it is a different story altogether. Sometimes we have 2-3 relocations during one crane move. These involve lots of hard work and stress, sometimes everything depends on the weather, if weather is not favorable then standby can be much longer than expected. To match our clients timelines we need to eventually include additional sources to reach milestones.

We are keeping a closer eye on market developments, using market intelligence research, collecting all our inside information and aligning our strategy accordingly. This also includes the regular information exchange with our customers. For wind farm awarding we monitor a trend towards the auction system and EPC contracting. We subsequently bring in to line the business concept of the wind division with the needs our customers are facing due to these awarding concepts.

Sarens strength to tackle these challenges are our people and our equipment. Our talented workforce is always ready to go an extra mile to make sure that the project is executed with excellence. Our equipment is what makes the difference, moreover our strategy to cooperate with local business units and involve them in project execution  at every stage, of course under control of our experience staff, makes all the difference.

Tell us about the new set-up of the Sarens wind department in Europe? What will be the strength of the new set-up, what will the clients notice and how does this give an advantage over other parties?

The strength of Sarens in the past was to be closer to the client, understand his needs and looking together for solutions, be more project partners then just key supplier. With the new structure we will stay closer to our clients, the client will get clear defined contact partners for the sales and project execution. This set up will  warranty a proper PDCA cycle improving the project execution and increasing the revenue. We need to be very close to our clients because wind clients are very specific, we would like to build communication bridges with them and show that we think and work on the same wavelength. We are there to help them and find together the best solutions. 

Who will be the key people clients need to contact in the current structure? Could you tell us briefly about them?

We will offer our clients through all project phases, a contact person for the corresponding  level. Mariusz Sudol will be the contact person on top management level for all our customers, Jeroen Blok will be the responsible for all sales related activities, Benjamin Noe will be the contact person for all project execution related topics. These key people will be supported by a strong team of GKAMs Project managers and Site Managers. The team will be working under close supervision of the SHEQ Manager, Ronald van der Linden. Our team in Madrid, Javier and Ignacio have been closely working with the wind clients in Spain. We are aiming to build a strong network of Sarens wind people around the world who will be local specialists and the key to success