Rexroth Expands Wind-Power Capacity with New Plant

May 20, 2009 -- Bosch Rexroth expanded its capacity for producing large wind-turbine gearboxes by opening a new facility recently in Nuremberg, Germany. The plant, which covers a surface area as large as five football fields, will manufacture around 300 large gearboxes in 2009 for the latest generation of multi-megawatt turbines.

Approximately $246 million (180 million euros) will be invested in the new gearbox plant by 2013. The company also produces large wind-turbine gearboxes in Witten, Germany and Beijing, China, and intends to expand its U.S. presence for this industry in the near future.

“The long term forecasts continue to predict global growth for the wind-power market,” said Reiner Leipold-Büttner, member of the executive board, responsible for engineering and manufacturing at parent company Bosch Rexroth AG. “As the world’s largest independent supplier of gearboxes and automation solutions for wind turbines, Bosch Rexroth will benefit from this market development.”
Leipold-Büttner said the Global Wind Energy Council forecasts that installed wind-power output will nearly triple by 2013. In 2008, the U.S. became the country to install the most new wind-power output, and has surpassed Germany as the leading country for wind-power utilization. Encouraged by comprehensive economic incentives, Leipold-Büttner said he expects the U.S. market will continue to grow rapidly.

Rexroth is a long-time key supplier to the wind energy industry, and has built gearboxes for wind turbines for more than 15 years. In addition, the company recently acquired a majority share in IGUS ITS Gmbh, a manufacturer of condition monitoring systems for wind energy plants. These systems monitor the condition of rotor blades and also offer the option of diagnosing the formation of ice on the blades. With this addition, Rexroth offers an extended range of products for the growing wind energy industry, including dynamic rotor blade pitch adjustment systems, drive train and yaw drive brakes, and more. The company also provides in-the-field support in more than 80 countries for everything from failure analysis to repairs on a 24/7 basis.

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Bosch Rexroth offers a brochure, Drive & Control Technology for Wind Turbines, which highlights its industrial hydraulics technology developed specifically for the wind energy market. The brochure is available for free download at www.boschrexroth-us.com/Sustainable.

Bosch Rexroth AG is one of the world’s leading specialists in the field of drive and control technologies. Under the brand name of Rexroth the company supplies more than 500,000 customers with tailored solutions for driving, controlling and moving machinery used in industrial and factory automation as well as in mobile applications. Bosch Rexroth is a partner for industrial applications, factory automation, mobile applications and renewable energy development. As The Drive & Control Company, Bosch Rexroth develops, produces and sells components and systems in more than 80 countries. In 2008 Bosch Rexroth AG, part of the Bosch Group, achieved sales of around $8.3 billion (5.9 billion Euro) with 35,300 employees.