Doosan Enerbility announced on May 26th that it had attended the 7F Users Group Conference, which had been held in in Birmingham, Alabama for five days starting from May 19th, together with Korea Southern Power (KOSPO).
This year marked the 35th annual conference for the 7F Users Group, which is noted as being the world’s largest gathering of gas turbine users. Numerous global manufacturers of the 7F series(150MW-class) attend the event to share stories about their maintenance cases and operational know-how. Currently, 940 units of the 7F turbine have been supplied worldwide, with approximately 660 of those units currently operating in the States.
Doosan Enerbility and KOSPO delivered a presentation together on the subject of “Non-OEM Retrofit* Best Practices” at the event, marking the first joint presentation to be given by a user and supplier. KOSPO’s Busan Bitdream Headquarters Head Hwa-seop Lee explained to the audience about the background story that led to the adoption of non-OEM technology and drew attention to the technological and economic benefits perceived from his viewpoint as an operator. Doosan Turbomachinery Services(DTS)** Engineering Director Scott Keller outlined the key features of the gas turbine components such as rotors, casings and hot parts that are manufactured by Doosan, and highlighted the competitiveness held by DTS in the area of gas turbine maintenance services.
* Maintenance and upgrade services that are provided by a non-OEM third party
** Doosan Enerbility’s U.S. subsidiary which is based in Houston, Texas and specializes in gas turbine services.
This past January, Doosan Enerbility and KOSPO had formed the “Team Korea Consortium for Gas Turbine Exports” and announced that they sought to target the North American market with Korea’s gas turbine service technology. Using this event as a stepping stone, Doosan Enerbility plans to actively embark on marketing efforts aimed at the North American gas turbine services market via its U.S.-based subsidiary DTS.
A source from Doosan Enerbility remarked, “Given that this is the first joint presentation that was ever given by a user and supplier together, it had a huge marketing effect in promoting our Korean gas turbine technology to local customers in the North American market. He added, “We plan to work together with our Korean local partners to build a larger gas turbine service ecosystem, and aim to continuously strengthen the targeting of the global market.
In the meantime, Doosan had signed a regeneration maintenance agreement with KOSPO on May 20th for domestic 7F gas turbines. Regeneration maintenance is a total maintenance solution that encompasses services such as inspection, repair or replacement of key components, for the purpose of keeping the equipment in good or better working conditions or extending the lifespan of the equipment. This contract holds significance as being the first contract win for a purely homegrown technology.
▲ KOSPO and Doosan Enerbility giving a user-supplier joint presentation at the 7F Users Group Conference held in Birmingham, Alabama on May 20 (local time).
▲ KOSPO’s Busan Bitdream Headquarters Head, Hwa-seop Lee (on the left), and DTS Engineering Director Scott Keller, giving a presentation on “Non-OEM Retrofit Best Practices” at the 7F Users Group Conference in Birmingham, Alabama on May 20 (local time).