CompositesWorld

MAR 2017

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MARCH 2017 38 CompositesWorld PLANT TOUR investors?' We said, 'Yes, we are.' He said, 'Please stop. My lawyer will prepare some simple term sheets so that we can move forward together.'" us began a financial marriage that officially launched Aeris Energy in mid-2010. e biggest decision the five faced, says Lolli, was where to physically locate the facility. All five men had originally come from the São Paulo area, but they knew, because transportation repre- sents as much as 20% of a wind blade's cost, that their plant had to be located where wind turbines were being installed, in the north- east, where half of Brazil's wind potential is located. Aeris Energy's founders also knew, says Lolli, that access to overseas shipping facilities would be critical to the company's long-term growth, particularly if it ever wanted to reach non-Brazilian markets. erefore, Caucaia was chosen, and construction began in 2011. By late 2011, with construction complete, Aeris won its first blade manufacturing contract, with India-based wind turbine maker Suzlon Ltd. is was followed in early 2012 with a contract with Spain-based Acciona and, in late 2012, with WEG (pronounced "vegg"), a Brazilian energy and industrial equipment specialist. e Suzlon contract expired in 2013, but it was replaced quickly by one with Vestas Wind Systems A/S in early 2015, and General Electric (GE) in 2016. Blades made by Aeris range in length from 53.7m to 61.2m. During this growth period, Aeris went from per annum produc- tion of 100 blades in 2013 to 2,000 blades today, operating out of a sprawling 55,000m 2 multi-building campus that employs 2,500 people. e company has become a stalwart employer, a highly respected blade manufacturer and a vital cog in the Brazilian wind energy machine. The tour Perhaps it goes without saying, but the sheer size of wind blades makes their manufacture a logistical challenge several orders of magnitude more complex than most composites manufacturing. Quantities of core material, glass fiber fabric, epoxy resin, epoxy adhesive and bagging materials are measured in thousands of kilograms. Molds are long and complex, and the number of employees required to produce a single blade introduces an error potential that makes quality control that much more challenging. Aeris manages this complexity, and the people within it, by orga- nizing its manufacturing around its customers. So each customers' work is organized, based on the molds dedicated to its blades. Lolli is CW's guide during the plant tour, and our first stop is administration, where the board of directors (the five founders) works alongside employees in human resources, finance, control and contract management. is open-concept work area, says Lolli, fosters communication among managers and the FIG. 3 Strong supplier technical support Aeris fabricates its wind blades and roots (pictured here) using epoxy resin supplied by Hexion. Hexion bonding paste is used to assemble all blades. Hexion has provided Aeris strong technical and production assistance throughout the blademaker's evolution. Source | Aeris Energy FIG. 4 Controlling manufacturing and man-hours An Aeris worker finishes up blade layup. One thing Aeris focuses on closely is the man hours and cost to manufacture a blade. It takes the company about 24 hours to produce a blade, from start to finish. The goal is to reduce that number, without incurring additional labor costs. Source | Wellington Fernandes

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