A new member, FifthForce, a company specialized in high-rise works (industrial climbing, rope access) has joined the OIEH green family as a new domestic player in the wind farm servicing segment.
“We consider OIEH the key platform for renewable energy sources, for informing and connecting the leading stockholders of the industry in Croatia both in regard to the development of renewable sources as well as cooperation considering that we expect the continued powerful growth of the sector,” Berislav Fitnić, the director of the family company FifthForce from Donja Stubica pointed out.
Maja Pokrovac, director of the Renewable Energy Sources of Croatia (OIEH) expressed great satisfaction that once more the value of membership in the association has been recognized and even more that it implied the broadening of the portfolio of services provided by domestic players in the sector of renewable sources: “In these pandemic times when borders are being closed we have become aware of the value of domestic resources. This includes the portfolio of services such as the maintenance of wind farms and other technologies that are of crucial importance for the continuity and quality of operation. Ensuring a quick reaction in crisis situations when even a minor malfunction can cause great damage if it is not possible to fix it in a short period of time is possible only if all required services are easily and readily available to us. FifthForce has recognized a very important business niche and considering the potentials of the sector we are convinced that the demand for their services will only grow with time,” Pokrovac pointed out and welcome the new member once again.
From hobby to business
The small family firm began its activities through a hobby – free climbing. They recognized the opportunity to develop their business in a niche that lacked in the supply of specific services, and with greater experience and new know-how, their portfolio also expanded. As Fitnić pointed out, at the very start they made a strategic decision to opt for industrial climbing and embarked on the rehabilitation of reinforced concrete structures up to a height of 340 meters, maintenance and equipping of silos and industrial halls, sandblasting and dry ice cleaning, anti-corrosive protection and assembly of telecommunication equipment on steel structures, assembly and inspection of lightning conductor installations and similar jobs at considerable heights.
Each of our undertakings called for additional skills, equipment and tools which required of us to attain new specific skills and which finally resulted in a broad spectrum of services we are offering. The first engagements we had in the sector of renewable energy sources were the disassembling, moving and reassembling at a new location meteorological columns and replacement of measurement devices”, Fitnić added.
The fact that the servicing of turbine blades in Croatia are mainly carried out by foreigners, the global and local expansion of the wind energy sector encouraged them to focus on that activity which was soon recognized by some big global companies. “FifthForce as a local partner can provide quick, efficient and reliable support, first recognized ny Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, In a situation of a global pandemic it gained in significance since our team is present and available locally, while the prohibition of trans-border movement last season has disrupted the arrival of foreign service providers,” the firms director pointed out.
In the forthcoming period FifthForce plans to expand it capacities and increase its market share. Given the importance of the niche they entered, their references and foundations they built on, their accessibility, quickness of response and reliability are on a good path to the successful implementation the set plans.
