Category: News

Five Rights to Freedom of The Switch give the ability to excel even during hard times

The wind power business has experienced difficulties over the years in different continents. In 2009, the financial crisis squeezed money from the European market. In 2010, the US market slowed down. And most recently, China cooled in 2011.

We have been able to navigate in this turbulent environment, even though The Switch, too, has experienced challenges. Many potential projects have not turned into the planned volume production. Many of our customers have experienced challenges to enter the market, changed ownership or have given up on the wind turbine business.

We have analyzed our success factors – and come to the conclusion that we embrace certain rights, giving The Switch the freedom and ability to excel even during hard times.

The Switch - 5 Rights to Freedom

When solar power plants and wind farms talk to the grid

Vanguard engineers at The Switch, a world-class Finnish company that specializes in machines that transform energy into electricity, have advanced power conversion by making the communication between a wind turbine or solar power plant and the transmission line to which it is connected more effective.

The Switch - Next-generation full-power converter

The Switch awarded as The Entrepreneur of the Year in Vaasa

The local entrepreneur association in Ostrobothnia, Finland, has awarded The Switch as “The Entrepreneur of The Year 2010”. The recognition was given for the company’s tremendous growth, internationalization and societal impact especially in Vaasa, one of the Ostrobothnia municipalities.

The Switch - Dag Sandås

Step by step to PMG technology

Move towards better overall system efficiency, higher reliability and higher fault ride-through capability by switching up to permanent magnet generator (PMG) technology.
The Switch - Switch to PMG technologyVisit us at EWEC 2010, booth #4158, and learn more!

Sea Change: Recommendation for off-shore wind farms

Though North America lags Europe on the wind energy front, with less cumulative installed capacity despite a vast geographical size difference, growth is strong and has only scratched the surface. Huge potential, particularly, exists in offshore installations, which represent just a small percentage of global wind capacity to date.

Ocean-based turbines, both floating and fixed, take advantage of powerful, more consistent wind speeds and a topography that doesn’t obstruct wind flow.

Large-scale production cooperation takes off in China

In summer 2008, The Switch and its Chinese partner Dongfang Electrical Machinery Co. Ltd (DFEM) entered into a cooperation agreement to combine world-class technology in permanent magnet (PM) generators from The Switch with DFEM’s vast production capabilities. According to the contract signed in December 2009, the enterprise will now take off with 2.2 MW wind power generators manufactured in DFEM’s brand-new factory in China.

DFEM recently inaugurated a new factory in Deyang, in the southwest Sichuan Province in China, where it is able to produce up to 2,000 PM generators per year in the range of 1 MW to 6 MW. With this mass production capacity at hand, The Switch and its partnering company DFEM are ready to supply the fast-growing market for megawatt-class PM machines.

东方电机的第二份订单；与美闻达的首次合作

斯维奇已与东方电机就一套3 MW传动系统签订了一项新的协议，该系统将与芬兰美闻达公司联合设计，后者负责风机的齿轮箱解决方案。此次合作的目的是为东方电机优化面向整个中国市场的产品。东电自启动斯维奇1.5 MW永磁直驱发电机项目后，新订单便接踵而至。

The Switch strengthens market position in field

The Switch has again taken giant leaps ahead in its chosen area of delivering megawatt-class converter and generator packages for wind power and other renewable energy applications.

Now with new and repeat orders from customers in the tens of millions of euros, The Switch dominates as technology leader in full-power converters and permanent magnet generators, and has strengthened its position as a market leading supplier.