Ann Arbor-based SkySpecs, a provider of robotics solutions for the wind energy industry, today announced the opening of an office in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 2008, the company has been inspecting wind turbines via automated aerial drones in North America and Europe, and plans to continue both onshore and offshore growth in 2019 and beyond.
SkySpecs offers an end-to-end blade inspection and analysis solution that enables wind farm owners to collect, manage, and analyze their blade data with the single push of a button.
“A European presence represents a strategic expansion for the SkySpecs brand. We are busy assembling an operations and sales team and are excited to double our footprint to support more growth,” says Danny Ellis, CEO of SkySpecs.
Franz LaZerte will oversee the European market for SkySpecs, including providing operational support to regional projects and also helping develop European customer relationships and opportunities through technical sales.
LaZerte spent the last six years studying and working in renewable energy, four of those at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. He has experience in various wind O&M projects spanning the value chain, from initial technology R&D, to site-level execution of retrofit campaigns — experience he’ll leverage to support SkySpecs’ Amsterdam office and their regional customers.
“Having worked with blade inspection and repair concepts in R&D, I recognized SkySpecs’ technology as a game-changer in the wind industry. The automated inspection and data analytics provides abundant potential for wind turbine owners to better plan blade repair campaigns and lower O&M costs,” says LaZerte.
