The demise of Windtechnics follows a heated dispute between it and its largest client, Gamesa. Windtechnics commercial director, Julien Dupuis, alleges Gamesa demanded Windtechnics double its number of hours of service for the same fee and that the O&M provider refused.
Dupuis argues that Gamesa reneged on an oral agreement, reached at the beginning of July, that the Spanish turbine manufacturer would pay supplementary invoices for additional work undertaken by Windtechnics staff.
Gamesa has denied it has failed to pay Windtechnics’ invoices and has indicated that it is willing to take legal action if necessary.
In 2008, Windtechnics signed an O&M contract with Gamesa and, until recently, was servicing 260MW of Gamesa turbines in France.
More positively, Windtechnics’ UK arm — now known as Windtechnics Ltd — has attracted the necessary investment to continue operations, safeguarding about 20 jobs.
The identity of the new investor(s) has not yet been named, however, commercial manager Matthew Mair said "the future of the company is in good hands".
Addition to article - 15 September
There is also good news about the future of Windtechnics’ subsidiaries in Romania and Bulgaria. These companies are being purchased by Windtechnics’ former Black Sea & East Mediterranean director, Olivier Schorochoff. In time, Schorochoff hopes to attract additional investment from a major O&M provider.
Schorochoff’s purchase of the Romanian and Bulgarian arms of Windtechnics safeguards about 35 jobs. Both businesses are in good financial health and are profitable, says Schorochoff.
Although servicing of Gamesa turbines will cease at the end of the month, the two firms have O&M contracts with two other turbine manufacturers and Schorochoff hopes to finalise deals soon with two further manufacturers.
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