Wind energy · United States
Circuit Breaker &Amp; Contactor Repair for US Wind Operators
American fleets running European-built turbines carry European LV switchgear — Emax, Masterpact, 3WL, LC1F — that the US OEM service network struggles to support. We already air-freight these units between our UK workshop and US customers. The route is proven; wind is the same equipment.
- LogisticsAir freight, door to door
- PaperworkCommercial invoice, HTS, ISF handled
- Typical loop2–3 weeks incl. transit
- ExchangePool held in UK, dispatched by air
Why a UK workshop
The turbine is European. So is its switchgear.
Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, Nordex and the older GE platforms built on European designs ship with the LV breakers and contactors their European engineers specified: ABB SACE Emax, Schneider Masterpact and TeSys LC1F, Siemens 3WL and 3RT. In the US these are IEC-frame units in a UL world — the local ABB, Schneider and Siemens service channels carry the North American ranges, and repair capability for the IEC frames, above all the obsolete first-generation ones, is thin.
Our workshop was built around exactly these ranges. We repair them every day for UK industrial and commercial sites, and we already ship them across the Atlantic for US customers: crated, air-freighted, customs-cleared and back. A turbine breaker from Iowa or Texas is the same job as one from Yorkshire, with a crate and a commercial invoice added.
| ABB SACE Emax | E1–E3 first generation, E2.2–E4.2 current range |
| Schneider Masterpact | NW and NT — fixed and drawout moving portions |
| Siemens 3WL | All frame sizes |
| Schneider TeSys LC1F | Generator and crowbar contactor frames — overhauled continuously for US customers |
| Other contactors | ABB AF / A-series, Siemens 3RT / 3TF |
Logistics
How a transatlantic repair runs
Quote from photos
Nameplate, cabinet and fault photos by email. We confirm capability and quote diagnosis and freight before anything moves.
Crate & collect
Packing instructions for the unit — springs discharged, drawout portions racked out and secured, trip unit protected. We arrange the collection and the air-freight booking.
Export & import
Commercial invoice, HTS classification and the temporary-export paperwork for repair-and-return so the unit isn't taxed twice. We've done it; you approve the documents.
Workshop
Strip, diagnose, fixed quote, rebuild, injection test and certificate — the standard process, on the standard timescale.
Return
Crated for air freight and delivered door to door with the certificate, strip-down report and customs documents. Typically two to three weeks from collection to redelivery.
Fleet programmes
Exchange pools for US fleets
Transit time is the argument for service exchange rather than repair-and-return. A pool of tested units for your turbine models, held in Yorkshire and dispatched by air the day a fault is reported, gets a replacement to a US site in days; the failed unit follows on the return leg and rejoins the pool. For a fleet on first-generation Emax or Masterpact — units with no US repair route at all — it is the difference between a spare and a shutdown.
Pools can also be positioned with you: seed units overhauled and certified here, shipped to your central stores, replenished as failed units come back for rebuild.
| Hours | Workshop 8am–5pm UK — 3am–12pm Eastern, 2am–11am Central. Email is answered same working day; calls by arrangement in your afternoon |
| Currency | Quoted in GBP or USD as you prefer; paid by bank transfer |
| Freight | Arranged by us on our account or yours; insured in transit |
| Documentation | Test certificates and reports in English, imperial or metric as required, with the unit's serial number |
| Warranty | 12 months on the work carried out |
FAQs
Frequently asked
Isn't shipping a breaker across the Atlantic expensive?
Against the cost of a new-generation breaker plus the cabinet modification to fit it — or a turbine standing for the weeks it takes to find one — no. Air freight on a crated ACB is a known figure we quote up front. For a fleet, an exchange pool spreads it further.
Do we get hit with import duty on our own breaker?
Not when the paperwork is done properly. Repair-and-return is handled as a temporary export with the unit re-imported under the appropriate provision. We prepare the documents; your broker or ours files them.
Can you work to our site's documentation requirements?
Yes. Send the format your QA process needs — test certificate fields, report structure, NERC-related evidence — and the documentation matches it.
Do you visit US sites?
Our engineers have attended US customer sites for remedial and commissioning work. For wind, the workshop-plus-exchange model rarely needs it, but where a fleet wants us in the tower for a programme, it's a conversation.
Get started
Tell us about the breaker
Make, model and rating from the nameplate, plus a description of the fault. We'll come back with a clear recommendation and a fixed price — usually the same working day.
- Workshop & office01977 253063
- Out of hours07496 013884
- Email & photosinfo@circuitbreakerrepair.co.uk
- WorkshopUnit 13–17 Dale Court, Pontefract, West Yorkshire WF9 3FL