Wind Energy

Hansen transmissions – wind turbine gearbox testing with PULSE

High fuel prices and increased focus on global warming and renewable energy resources have contributed to an increased investment in the development of wind power technology over the last three decades.

Today, wind energy is a proven technology and is already competing with gas and “new coal-fired” electricity. And the wind energy market is expected to continue to grow. Indeed, BTM Consult Aps (BTM) have forecasted growth in global cumulative installed wind power capacity from 93,106 MW at the end of 2007 to 203,151 MW at the end of 2011.

Hansen Transmissions – “In Gear for a Sustainable Future”

Hansen Transmissions’ history can be traced back to the formation of “La Mécanique Générale” in 1923, a small workshop in Antwerp producing spare parts for numerous types of mechanical equipment. Gradually, the company’s activities shifted towards the production of customised gear units, mainly under the influence of a young engineer called David Hansen. In 1939, the company relocated to its present Headquarters in Edegem, offering a range of possibilities for future expansion.

Today, the company supplies gearboxes to the major manufacturers of gear-driven wind turbines globally – Vestas (Denmark), Siemens Wind (Denmark), Gamesa (Spain), Suzlon Energy (India) and REpower (Germany) – and provides durable gear drives for a wide range of industrial applications throughout the world. Hansen plans to increase its wind turbine gearbox manufacturing capabilities, from 3800MW per annum in the financial year 2007 to 14300MW, by financial year 2013.

In addition to its principal manufacturing facilities in Belgium – comprising a wind turbine and industrial gearbox plant in Edegem (Antwerp) and a fully integrated state-of-the-art dedicated wind turbine gearbox manufacturing facility in Lommel (Limburg) – Hansen has a +95000 m² production plant for wind turbine gearboxes in Coimbatore, India and started the construction, in September 2008, of a production plant for wind turbine gearboxes for the Chinese market on a 250000 m² site in the Beichen Hi-tech Industrial park in Tianjin.

Hansen has strong research and development operations to maintain its technological leadership and employs over 2,400 people worldwide.

www.hansentransmissions.com/en/