Avanti becomes a Cresto/ResQ distributor in the wind energy industry

The leading world market producer of service lifts and other personal safety systems for wind turbine towers, Avanti Wind Systems, has started as a strategic distributor and service partner for Cresto ResQ products in the wind energy industry. Cresto (previously named ResQ) has sold more than 25,000 sets of evacuation and rescue equipment for wind turbine towers around the world.

The agreement between Avanti Wind Systems and Cresto means that Avanti will establish training and service centers for Cresto equipment in Germany, Great Britain, Spain, the United States, India, Australia and China, where Avanti already has offices and factories.

“Safety in wind turbine towers always has top priority at Avanti, so it is natural for us to have entered into this partnership,” says Avanti’s Training Manager, Ole Jensen.

Cresto and ResQ have until now been trademarks for fall safety equipment. Henceforth they will be marketed under the Cresto brand. However, ResQ will be kept as the product name for rescue equipments and related training. The company is owned by Skydda Protecting People Europe AB, part of the Swedish B&B Tools Group.

Regulations require that there be an alternative exit route from the top of wind turbine towers, so that technicians can get down should fire or other causes block the normal route up and down, for example. Therefore there should be rescue equipment in the nacelle so that technicians can descend externally.

As with everything related to wind turbine tower safety, the evacuation equipment must be inspected and tested at least once annually. But Cresto has developed approved packaging that makes it possible to test the safety equipment just once in 10 years.

“The safety equipment is vacuum packed, that is, put into a foil bag from which all air is pumped out. And when rescue device, ropes and other accessories are not in contact with oxygen, they last longer, since the materials cannot wear down. The vacuum packing also safeguards the equipment against the wind turbine tower vibrations,” says Jonas Cedaas, Managing Director of Cresto.

However, wind turbine owners must continue to inspect the vacuum packing for air-tightness at least once annually.

“If the packing is soft, it’s a sign of a hole in the bag. Then everything will have to be inspected and tested and vacuum pumped again,” Ole Jensen notes.

The Avanti-Cresto partnership also means that the two companies will jointly launch new series of harnesses and other personal protection equipment for technicians working on wind turbine towers.