An entrepreneur with nine patents to fall back on is rare and Bladena in Ringsted have wind turbine owners and producers from around the world as a potential customer group. The first product has certainly proven its worth.
Two devices connected by a cord and with a name that makes musicians think of the third guitar string and others to associate it with something completely different. D-String is the name and although it does not draw much attention to itself, it is the result of more than 10 years of research and testing and is also the first of a total of nine patents that Ringsted company Bladena has put into production.
The letter “D” stands for “deformation” and 12 of these D-Strings are placed into each of the three wings or blades can extend the lifespan of a wind turbine considerably. The cords literally prevent the turbine blades from separating which is one of the major reasons that wings need to be repaired or replaced.
CHEAPER THAN IN CHINA
NEWLY-FORMED COMPANIES OFTEN LOOK TO LOW-WAGE COUNTRIES WHEN TRYING TO FIND A SUB-CONTRACTOR TO PRODUCE THEIR GOODS. BLADENA WERE CONTENT TO LOOK TO THE COMPANY CUC ENGINEERING
– When we make injection molded components, we can actually make them cheaper than in China especially if you include delivery and the hassle factor. This is because things often go wrong. If for instance you have a product that has to be on the market within a short period of time, you should be very wary of assigning the task in Asia, says CUC Engineering Managing Director Morten Rasmussen.
At the moment making the Bladena D-Strings is not a big deal. This is a prototype which requires a lot of handwork and therefore differs from the tasks that CUC Engineering usually undertakes as a sub-contractor. But Morten Rasmussen can see the potential of a form of collaboration.
– If we demand too much too quickly we will kill off many good ideas. And when we are talking about wind turbines and green energy, it is fairly realistic to assume that the product has a future. At the same time there are some serious people behind this idea,” he says. CUC Engineering currently has 35 employees. If Bladena achieve the success that the company itself expects, Morten Rasmussen expects that the production of D-Strings can provide employment for an additional 10 individuals.
– But first it will be necessary to fully automate production. We have to be cost-effective for otherwise we will lose orders again. When we grow the employee numbers grow too – but not quite as much as the turnover. This way we can still keep production here in Denmark.”
Extract from AJOUR, December 2014, Growth magazine for the Sjælland region.
