Company Report: Northwind Solutions
Young company, vast experience Bolstered by a management team with over 50 years of industry experience, Northwind Solutions is a premier provider of wind energy services

It's hard to comprehend how any company in its fifth year of existence could claim extensive experience. That length of time hardly seems compatible with the notion of "experience." Yet even in its formative years, Northwind Solutions has emerged as a premier North American service provider to the wind industry that can boast about its experience - and back it up.

"In terms of being established with a track record of sustainable growth and strong quality from customers, we're among the veterans with the five years experience," says Vice President of Business Development, David Asling-Snee. "There haven't been a ton of wind developments in terms of large industrial projects up until recently. There are not that many companies doing what we've done for as long as we've done it."

The other way Northwind can substantiate its "experience" claim is through its senior management team. For example, Vice President of Operations, Toby Hall has 10 years of experience in the industry having worked at Vestas Americas prior to Northwind Solutions. The senior management team has more than 50 years of cumulative experience in the wind industry.

"Even though our life as Northwind is relatively new with the five year timeline, all members of our senior management team have been in their respective trades with over 90 plus years in the energy and service sectors of different aspects. Northwind Solutions is new but the experience behind us is not," explains Hall.

PROJECTS
In its short life as a company, Northwind has accumulated a number of premier projects in both the US and Canada, including a recent two-part development for a manufacturing company called AAER Wind Energy out of Bromont QC, Canada.

"It was just exciting to see more manufacturing companies coming into the market in North America. "It was exciting to see another North American project, exciting for us because we got to do the second installation. We managed the first one by providing construction management and expertise to give the technicians piece of mind, but the second project we actually installed 100 percent on the erection side," recalls Hall.

GREEN SURGE
Northwind has been able to work on an inordinate number of exciting projects because of the surging interest in renewable energy. Asling-Snee says the company, like many others associated with wind energy, has benefited from positive attention from the media. Furthermore, he says federal and state governments have been extremely supportive of wind energy, which has allowed for growth.

As new players enter the budding industry, Northwind is working with a number of technical schools to train new recruits. Hall and Asling-Snee point to Durham College and Texas State Technical College as schools the company has partnered with in shaping a wind energy curriculum for students. Along with recruits, the company is more than willing to share information with anyone who's interested in learning about the industry.

"We're happy to say we're committed to supporting people who are trying to learn about the industry as well as companies who are taking the opportunity to get into the industry. There are a lot of new clients that we've spent time with and new developers, new partnerships regarding construction opportunities. We've seen a lot of new resumes and business frankly," says Asling-Snee.

SAFETY
One of the chief reasons for Northwind's success is its constant attention to safety. In the company's five years it has not had a lost day of work due to injury on the job. This is likely because even before anyone ever steps on a wind farm, safety is on the mind of Northwind employees. The company puts employees through arduous off site safety training and requires its technicians to take all training courses - even if it doesn't apply to them.

"Safety at this organization is a strategic driver of the business," emphasizes Asling-Snee. "It goes far beyond something you have to do. We're wild about safety I don't know how else to put it. It's a big part of the company."

Asling-Snee learned firsthand about the importance of safety at Northwind within his first few months. He spent time with six technicians on a job site up in Canada. The company conducts frequent job safety analysis meetings regarding job site safety measures. At those first meetings he attended, Asling-Snee learned how serious the company takes safety.

"When you're a new guy, you realize you're in a serious meeting right away. These job safety analysis meetings were serious hands on execution -there was an incredible amount of rigor in terms of the discussion and review," recalls Asling-Snee.

RELATIONSHIPS
Of course, like any other thriving company, Northwind would be nowhere without the strong relationships it has with strategic partners and associates. Companies like McCann Equipment and Nimlock are examples of companies to which Northwind owes part of its success. McCann Equipment is Northwind's preferred vendor for calibrating while Nimlock assists the company with their tradeshow exhibits.

In the sense of partnerships, the internal relationship between the employees and management is another key cog in the Northwind machine. Both Hall and Asling-Snee say what makes the company unique is the fact it has a diverse, supportive, dedicated group of employees who are all about providing top-notch customer service.

"From my standpoint what makes us unique is the fact we have a close knit group of people where everyone cares about everyone else. I think that goes along way when you are working beside them. Someone won't take the risks that'll jeopardize you. Therefore, it's as low stress as you can imagine and the quality is significantly better, and production is also better. That's what I see in Northwind," concludes Asling-Snee.

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