Windbrokers trades in wind turbines. The company offers a full year's warranty on the products it sells. NGup is regularly asked to inspect rotor blades and carry out any maintenance required in order to prolong their service life. We interviewed Dick Vermeulen, the company's director, to find out more about Windbrokers.

Can you tell us more about Windbrokers' background?
Many wind turbines are designed to achieve a service life of 20 years. In addition, wind turbines are becoming increasingly larger. Politicians in many countries, including the Netherlands, have focused their attention on upscaling the wind turbines at existing locations. This policy is known as ‘repowering’ and is now actively supported by many governments. As a result, used wind turbines with a remaining service life of several years are now available on the market. Windbrokers believes that the growth in wind turbine installations will also stimulate the second-hand market. A conviction that led to the birth of Windbrokers in 2003. Windbrokers is an independent organization, whose owners are fully involved in the business.

What products and services do you offer?
Our project department specializes in dismantling, transporting, storing and reinstalling wind turbines. We are capable of managing a broad variety of projects ranging from single wind turbines to multiple unit orders. Our products are mainly sold in the business to business market.

Last year, we sold 14 new wind turbines and 46 used units. The capacity ranges from 80 kW to 660 kW. In our view, there is increasing demand for higher capacities, a trend that is also supported by our turnover figures.

Our business is very international. Our customers are located in 14 countries all around the globe. Our main customers are based in Great Britain, Poland and Japan. As you would expect, internet is an essential element in our marketing strategy. Our web site attracts an average of 150 visitors per day, confirming our position as global market leader in this field.

How are things going?
Extremely well, I'm glad to say. We are growing at a rate of about 300% per annum. We are currently strengthening our organisation so that we can maintain this rate of growth. While satisfactory financial results are key to the business, we also feel it important to enjoy our work. Our company consists of a balanced, multi-disciplinary team that unites technical, marketing, financial and project management expertise. Our extraordinary rate of growth has made it necessary to move to new premises with more room for storage and transshipment activities. The new location is called “De Windgaard” or the "Wind orchard", which seems an appropriate name. It is situated in Zeewolde, in the heart of the Flevopolder, the wind capital of the Netherlands and the centre of Dutch wind energy.

What's your secret?
I shouldn't really tell you in case our competitors also read your newsletter. But, it's really quite simple. We match supply to demand and pay great attention to product quality. We also supply to international quality standards. In-house expertise is also important and we collaborate closely with a number of sub-contractors who support our activities. These include local contractors, who supply a variety of products and services such as the foundation structure, for example. Furthermore, we are also able to arrange finance, and, as we mentioned already, we guarantee the product fully and offer a clear, well-defined pricing model.

Why do you collaborate with NGup?
We believe in high quality. So obviously, we select our sub-contractors with great care. We chose NGup based on the company's expertise, the enthusiasm of its employees and their “no chit-chat, get the job done” mentality.

Do you have any advice for us?
Yes: concentrate on your strengths. The inspection, repair and maintenance market is growing. Make sure you make the most of this trend and promote the quality of your products and services to the market.

Thank-you for this interview. We will bear your comments in mind.