June 2 - Nooteboom Special Products has invented a system for loading and unloading the extremely heavy generator units of large wind turbines, which avoids the need for a mobile crane. The first three systems have been delivered to the specialised windmi

Each generator - or nacelle as it is more commonly known in the windpower business - makes its way through the production process on a so-called 'base frame' which is subsequently coupled to a tractor trailer unit and transported.

Vestas developed the 'base frame' to reduce the costs of its internal logistics, and subsequently asked Nooteboom to develop the best transport solution for it which uses load floor adaptors and a load floor that can be coupled to them.

Based on the Vestas 'base frame', Nooteboom Special Products' solution makes it possible to load or unload the 2 MW nacelles without a mobile crane. By integrating the flexibility in the coupling of the load floor, loading and unloading becomes possible even on wind turbine locations where there is very little room to manoeuvre.