Mark van Doorn has been employed by Pondera since 1 May 2021 and works within the CBE team, which is involved in the Contracting, Construction & Exploitation of sustainable energy projects.

Mark has been active in the wind industry since 2000 and gained his experience at Lagerwey, Harakosan, XEMC Darwind and the last 7 years again at Lagerwey/Enercon. At Lagerwey and Harakosan, Mark was involved in the development of the Direct Drive wind turbines in the role of mechanical engineer. His work there consisted of constructing mechanical parts of the wind turbine, ranging from the wheel brakes to the castings. For an Indian client, Mark was involved in developing a prototype, purchasing, assembling and testing the wind turbines.

At Darwind, Mark became involved as a sales engineer in the tender processes of offshore wind turbines for projects in the United States, Great Britain and demonstration projects in the German Bight.

Mark continued his career at Lagerwey where he was the manager of the sales support department. This team supported the account managers with quotations, contracts, business cases and technical due diligences. In addition, the team was responsible for wind resource assessments.

After the partial merger of Lagerwey and Enercon, Mark chose to continue as R&D project manager at Lagerwey. There he was responsible for implementing the various turbine options such as shadow flicker prevention, bat protection, ice detection and preparing a wind turbine platform for regions with a very cold climate.

Mark explains his move to Pondera himself.

What was your motivation to start working at Pondera?

“After working for manufacturers for a long time, I thought it would be a great challenge to sit on the other side of the table and look at the market from a different perspective. I already knew of Pondera as an enthusiastic group of people with expertise, and now that I am amongst them I can confirm that is indeed the case. I look forward to working with the team to further develop our department and to be a valuable partner for our clients.”

What is your best experience so far?

“It’s very difficult to choose, that’s why I’ll mention two. Being involved from start to finish in the development of a complete wind turbine platform is, I think, unique in today’s wind industry and this has given me insight into all facets of this process. This is something I still benefit from every day.

Lagerwey had developed its 2.5 MW direct drive platform at the time, and the sales organisation there was still in its infancy. As a sales support manager, it was wonderful to help build the sales team and to contribute to the sales results of Lagerwey in the Netherlands, Finland and Belgium. One of the biggest challenges we had as a sales team was making sure our turbines were financeable. Our engineers had to be convinced that a prototype alone was not enough to sell a turbine, but that the guarantees, contracts, certificates, HSE, project realisation and service had to be in order before you could sell anything.”

What are your experiences so far with team CBE?

“It may sound a bit like a sales pitch, but from day one I felt at home in the team, despite the fact that we are temporarily in an online society and can’t be together in the one room. Obviously, meeting and getting acquainted in person is preferred. During the introductory meetings and after the first collaborations, I myself came to the conclusion that the team is characterised by their enthusiasm and drive. All team members have a passion for sustainable energy. The team is continuously working on improvement, enriching knowledge but also improving the service for our clients. At Pondera, a lot of attention is paid to training and knowledge transfer, so that we are aware of the latest developments in the market.”

What are the key areas that you want to tackle with your team?

“I will use my technical knowledge of wind turbines to improve the service in that area. This includes technical due diligences, compiling and assessing employer requirements and ensuring that options on wind turbines such as shadow flicker, ice, and bat detection systems match the requirements laid down in permits, laws and regulations and by our clients. We’ll also look at the performance of the wind turbines and the contractual guarantees associated with them.”