Rendsburg Port on the German Kiel Canal has one of the highest capacities of any centre for heavy load logistics in northern Europe, making it an important location for the onshore and offshore wind industries.
The Kiel Canal makes this possible. Over the past ten years, Rendsburg Port has developed into a centre for heavy load logistics. The canal is a boon for the 28,000-inhabitant city. Two industry heavyweights have set up locations on the canal: Max Bögl, an internationally active construction and service company, and Senvion, one of the leading manufacturers of onshore and offshore wind turbines. Together, the companies have created 1,100 jobs.
Max Bögl produces up to 45 tonnes of heavy half-shells or complete rings for wind turbine towers here. The concrete rings are a work of art: they are manufactured to a tolerance of 2/10 mm. According to the company, no one else in the world can do this. That is also the reason why the Bögl rings can do without mortar between the rings; at least the ones for Senvion, which cooperates very closely with Bögl. Bögl will supply its products to any manufacturer, even to those which usually use their own concrete towers but are now reaching their capacity limits. Approximately 200 hybrid towers leave Bögl's manufacturing site annually, and 60% of these are shipped via the heavy load port. A single inland shipload saves the environment 30 to 35 lorry transports.
Control centre monitors 5,000 turbines
The manufacturer Senvion employs a total of 885 people in Rendsburg. Approximately 650 of these men and women work at the TechCenter research and product development centre. Senvion's control centre is also located here, which is capable of monitoring wind farms all over the world – but only if a corresponding maintenance contract exists.
The control centre is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Technicians monitor and control more than 5,000 wind turbines here. Eighty percent of all errors can be resolved sitting at a desk. In a fifth of cases, a maintenance and repair team needs to travel to the installation site.
Jörn Iken
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