Wood Group Expands U.S. Market Share with State-of-the-Art Generator Overhaul Shop and Staff in Farmington, New Mexico

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Beginning with the August 2002 acquisition of Industrial Repair Service Incorporated (IRS) facilities in Farmington, New Mexico, Wood Group Generator & Motor Services (Farmington, New Mexico), a division of Scotland’s Wood Group (LSE:WG) has embarked on a series of investments in people and facilities to enhance its aftermarket generator and motor repair services, targeting the needs of the power generation and process plant markets in the U.S. and throughout the Americas. Foremost, the company has assembled an experienced team of industry experts to lead the company. Stressing people and customer service as a priority, Iain Murray, who up until a few weeks ago was CEO of the division, and who will soon take over a new position at the Wood Group’s U.S. headquarters in Houston, Texas, helped strengthen the team by recruiting individuals who collectively have over 170 years of industry experience. Knowledgeable with all aspects of generator original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s), such as GE, Westinghouse, and Alstom, the team includes incoming CEO, Raymond Plachta, who has 27 years experience with GE, COO, David Branton, who has 26 years experience with Westinghouse and Field Services Leader John Taylor, who has 31 years hydro experience, previously, with ABB/Alstom.

In addition to personnel, Wood Group has spent a considerable sum on improvements to its shop facilities in Farmington, New Mexico. Mr. Murray goes on to state, “Since the acquisition, we’ve added about $5 million in new facilities and equipment, principally a state-of-the-art rotor rewind facility, including high-speed balance capabilities. It’s the only high-speed balance facility of its kind west of Houston.”

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The attention to customer service seems to be paying off. Since the addition of the 25,000 square foot generator overhaul shop in Farmington, New Mexico, Wood Group’s aftermarket generator service business has grown by 25%. And the company won’t be stopping there. “The investment in people and facilities is inline with our goal to be the customer’s first choice for aftermarket generator and motor service. There is no reason why our aftermarket services business cannot be doubled within the next three to five years,” according to Mr. Murray.

The new state-of-the-art rotor rewind facility features a Schenck Trebel (Deer Park, New York) balance pit and can service rotors up to 100,000 pounds, 40 feet in length, up to about 230 megawatts (MW). Wood Group recommends that generator rotor rewinds be performed in its Farmington shop to insure absolute environmental control and full testing capability, including “at speed” operation and testing. When the rotor arrives from the plant site, it is completely disassembled, inspected, tested, and rewound with new or refurbished copper, using the latest insulation system, in clean rooms to avoid contamination. Trained rotor winding teams and tested procedures assures that the rewind is done correctly. Rotors are then placed in the balance pit, which is blast proof, with 30-inch thick walls. Operating conditions are simulated with a full speed rotor test to make sure the rewind was successful. Without the balance pit, the rotor has to be taken back to the plant site, reassembled, and then operated, in order to see if there are any problems. For this reason, the high speed balance saves the client time and money and guarantees a successful rewind every time. Complete rewinds are now routinely performed in less than five weeks.

Case in point – when Thermal Cogeneration Partnership, a 50/50 joint venture between The Bear Stearns Companies and Kinder Morgan Power, needed to repair a design flaw in two ABB Alstom steam turbine generators rated at 52.5 MWs each, they eventually turned to Wood Group Generator & Motor Services, after having spent $1.2 million on an OEM-performed total rotor rewind for the first unit. The Wood Group prepared and performed an alternative repair scope for the second unit for $300,000. According to Milt McBride, Plant Manager for the Fort Lupton Cogeneration plant in Fort Lupton Colorado, “The Wood Group job was performed at a lower cost and the unit was back online in less time than the OEM-performed job took.”

The Wood Group can service anything from small turbo generators up to large hydroelectric projects, where the generators are built into the plant itself. In the case of large generators’ requiring aftermarket service, where it is not possible or economical to move the generator to the shop, the company sends experienced generator technicians from its in-house resource labor pool with all of the necessary tools and material organized in trailers or containers, so as to be totally self-sufficient. The total combined resources that Wood Group has developed to support generator service represent one of the largest in the Americas.

For the future, the company is committed to achieve ISO 9001 standards by fall of 2005 and is also installing processes and systems to upgrade its service offering, including an enterprise resource management system and P3 planning – process mapping and management system. The company has also instituted sustainability initiatives, such as new training classes in the local colleges and high schools, and is creating a two-year college course to train the next generation of technicians.

Five Activities of Wood Group Generator & Motor Services

1) The company manufactures new low, medium, and high voltage windings in Farmington, New Mexico, in a well-equipped coil manufacturing facility, which operates 24 hours a day and is staffed by skilled Native American workers.

2) Generator field test, inspection, and repair – Whether for scheduled or forced outages, the company has highly-skilled and fully-equipped testing and diagnostic technicians available to respond quickly and cost effectively, regardless of the generator type. The company is establishing a network of regional generator specialists to be based in Florida, the Northeast, Saint Louis, and Los Angeles, which will able to respond to a customer’s need within 4-5 hours. It has also formed an alliance with IRIS Power Engineering Inc. (Toronto, Ontario) to provide permanent monitoring and diagnostic equipment and services.

3) Full turnkey overhaul projects for large hydroelectric and turbo generators, including winding design, manufacture, and complete shop-based or onsite rewind, repair, and unit start-up services.

4) Large shop services, including rotor and stator rewinds, retaining ring replacement, bearing Babbitt services, high-speed balancing, and large high voltage motor rewinds. Wood Group Generator and Motor Services is one of the few companies to stock 18-18 generator forgings to fit the most common sizes of generator rotors.

5) Local machine shop and electrical services for the Four Corners area oil and gas industries.

The company is focusing on becoming the customer’s first choice for aftermarket generator and motor service. About 85% of the company’s current business is U.S. based, with the remainder being spread throughout central and South America, Philippines, and Puerto Rico. In conclusion, Mr. Murray states, “We believe we can be competitive with OEM’s in technical capabilities, turn time, and quality of work, but far ahead of them in terms of the service provided and cost.” Wood Group Generator & Motor Services has its priorities in the right place and has positioned itself to take advantage of the growing aftermarket services demand.

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