EUROPEAN WINDMILL MANUFACTURERS

Denmark / Finland / France / Germany / Italy / Netherlands / Spain

DENMARK

AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY COMPANY LTD

   Copenhagen firm.

• AGRICCO WINDMILL   This windmill was built in the 1920's. It used a paddle type wind wheel instead of a conventional tail for orientation and a similar but larger arrangement for the main drive. The wheel was tilted back over the head about 20 degrees to the vertical. The main blades were able to feather for wind wheel speed control. They were rotary drive power mills which could be adapted for pumping, generation or machinery operation. Water screws were offered for pumping purposes.

B J - STEEL

   Operational in 1993. Address Kaerbyvej 3, 8832 Skals, Denmark.

• BJ360 WINDMILL    3.6 metre wind wheel direct action windmill. 8 paddle blades, single spar tail and side vane.
• LJ3600 WINDMILL    Wind generator with pumping package. 3.6 metre wind wheel with eight blades.

NM ELECTRO

    Existed in 1983. Address = Fruevej 80, DK-7900, Nykobing Mors, Denmark.

• FC 4000    Wind generator with pumping package. 4 metre wind wheel with 2 blades. Used a side vane.

POWER MILLS

    Existed in 1993. Address = Toftegaardsjej 32, DK-9900, Friederikshavn, Denmark.

• POWER WINDMILL - ELECTRIC    6.3 metre wind wheel with 16 blades. Wind generator with pumping package.
• POWER WINDMILL    Direct action design with 5.3 metre wind wheel with 16 blades.

SPARCO

• MODEL 1 WINDMILL    Direct action. Two self regulating blades of light metal alloy. Uses ball bearings and had sold 30,000 units at the date of the brochure. For very shallow water source.

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FINLAND

• AKROBAAATTI WINDMILL

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FRANCE

BOLLEE FAMILY

    A family in Le Mans and Orleans. Ernest Sylvain BOLLEE patented a windmill which apparently proved to be unworkable. However in 1872 a new model was erected at Orleans. This design did away with the use of a wind vane and replaced it with a small wind wheel placed in front of the main wheel. The two part wind wheel uses sheet iron blades.The wind passes through a fixed set of blades to a revolving set immediately behind. The drive is taken from the second set to the ground. Auguste, Ernest's third son took out a further patent in 1885 based on the Orleans windmill. The head is placed on a single hollow cast iron column with wire stays and a circular staircase around this. Original wheel sizes were 2.5, 3.5 and 5 metres. On Ernest's death the windmill passed to Auguste who sold it to E. LEBERT of Les Mans.

ESTABLISSMENTS DES AEROMOTEURS "CYCLONE"

    Company at Margny Les Compiegne, which made a number of models. They made windmills with wind wheels from 2 to 12 metres.

• TYPE 1    Standard model geared machine with a tail hinged on two spars.
• TYPE 2    Designed for pumping and the generation of electricity. Used a side vane and right furling tail for regulation.
• TYPE 3    Direct action model.
• TYPE 4    Rotary drive mill with a wind wheel of up to 12 metres.

ETS BRUNO

    Laval based company.

• MISTRAL WINDMILL    Small direct action windmill with conventional wind wheel. A side vane was employed along with a hinged tail designed with the vane sheet fitted between the two tail spars.

ETS DE HERMENEAU

    Existed in 1993. 32 Rue Marcellin-Berthelot, Z.I des Touches, 53000 Laval. (would appear to be connected to ETS BRUNO).

• MISTRAL WINDMILL    Existed in 1993. Direct action windmills available with 2, 2.25 and 2.5 metre wind wheels which all had 15 blades.

ETS PONCELET AND CIEW

    Based in Plancy - L'Abbaye.

• OASIS WINDMILL    A small direct action windmill with a conventional wind wheel. A side vane was used and the tail was fitted on a double spar arrangement to two hinges below the level of the hub shaft.

HUMBOLT, Henri

    Company based in Coussey.

• L'IDEALE WINDMILL    A small direct action windmill with conventional wind wheel and single spar hinged tail. A side vane was employed.

LEBERT, E.

    Purchased the windmill interests of Auguste BOLLEE. He introduced a conventional tower although both types remained available. In 1985, 19 examples were known to exist of the BOLLEE type mill. [One in England].

PONCELOT ET CIE

    Existed in 1993. Address = Place de Victoire,   10380 Plancey l'Abbaye, BP 12, France. Probably = ETS PONCELOT AND CIEW.

• OASIS WINDMILL    Direct action windmill available with 1.75, 2, 2.25, and 2.5 metre wind wheels. All models have 15 blades.

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GERMANY

BRAUNS, Rudolf

    Dresden manufacturer.

• HERCULES WINDMILL    This was a large rotary drive windmill with conventional wind wheel and tail, and also used a side vane. Used relatively few blades in the wind wheel design. Some had wind wheels of 15 metres.

HERZOG, G. R.

• GOLIATH WINDMILL    A large, rotary drive windmill with conventional wind wheel and hinged, double spar tail.

KOSTER

    A Holstein company, which appears to have ceased production in the 1960's.

• ADLER WINDMILL     There appear to be more than one windmill with this name made by the company.
• • TYPE 1     This was built in the 1920's and used a paddle type wind wheel which braced the spokes to each other on the inside end of the blades. The blades themselves were a hollow aerofoil design.
  • TYPE 2     This model was available into the 1960's. More conventional double geared, twin pitman arm, single oil ring cross head and round bar guide loop design. The wind wheel design was also conventional. The tail vane was a swallow pattern and swung on two hinges to furl to the right. Regulation was by a standard design using offset hub shaft acting against a coil tension spring fixed from the gearbox to the tail spar.

KUNZ

    This may have been the name of the windmill rather than the manufacturer. It appears to be similar to TYPE 1 of the REINSCH windmills.

REINSCH, Carl

    Dresden company which appears to have been a major manufacturer from the 1880's into at least the first decade of the twentieth century.

• TYPE 1    Appear to have manufactured a copy of the Halliday windmill from the USA in the early years of the company.
• TYPE 2    A large windmill with variable pitch wind wheel, oriented with a pair of paddle style wind wheels instead of a tail.
• TYPE 3    Conventional wind wheel with a hinged twin spar tail with a single tapered vane sheet. Furled to the right.
• REFORM WINDMILL    Conventional wind wheel design with a side vane. Furled to the right.

VEREINIGTEN WINDTURBINENWERK

    Appears to have superseded RUDOLF BRAUN as the manufacturer of the HERCULES windmill.

WINDPUMPEN-ZENTRALE

• UNIMAX WINDMILL    Small pumping windmill. Also sold in Denmark. It had a paddle type wind wheel and what appears to be a conventional hinged tail.

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ITALY

TOZZI & BARDI

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NETHERLANDS

C W D [CONSULTANCY SERVICES IN WIND ENERGY FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES]

    Developed from SWD in the mid 1980's. They developed a number of small mills to be manufactured by local companies in Cape Verde, Morocco, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Tunisia and Zambia etc. By the time of the withdrawal of the support of the Dutch Government in July 1990 about 500 mills had been constructed in the various countries.

• CWD 2000    2 metre wind wheel direct action mull. 6 blades.
• CWD 5000    5 metre wind wheel direct action mill. 8 blades.

FA. GEBR. BAKKER

• RECORD WINDMILL    Appears to be a conventional design windmill which furled to the right.
• TYPE 1    The illustrated model has 4 paddle style blades, braced near the hub for a wind wheel, a conventional looking tail and in addition a side vane. The tower shown is a braced pole design.

LMW WINDENERGY B.V.

    Existed in 1983. Address = Lijnbaanstraat 1A, 9711 RT, Groningen.

• 1003 WINDMILL    Wind generator with pumping package. 3 metre wind wheel with 3 blades.
• 2500 WINDMILL    Wind generator with pumping package. 5 metre wind wheel with 3 blades.

PEIRSHIL

• BOSMAN WINDMILL    Small windmill with 4 paddle blades and a conventional tail using a single spar with hanging brace.

S W D

    Developed in 1975 as a steering committee for windmill use in developing countries. It was funded by the 'Netherlands Ministry for Development Co-operation and was a joint activity of the Eindhoven University of Technology, the Twente University of Technology and DHV consultants. The name changed to 'Consultancy Services in Wind energy for Developing countries' [CWD] in the mid 1980's.
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SPAIN

BORNEY, J.

    Existed in 1993. Avda de Ibi, 76 - 78, 03420 Castalla (Alicante), Spain.

• AEROMOTOR    Geared oil bath windmill which appears to be a AERMOTOR [USA] copy. Available with 1.8, 2.4, 3, 3.6, 4.2 and 4.8 wind wheels. All models have 18 blades.

FIGUERDA, J.

    Of Valencia.

• TYPE 1 WINDMILL    Had an open, back geared windmill c1910.

MOLINS DE VENT TARRAGO

    Founded and owned by Josep Tarrago Vilarrubi. They made their first windmill in 1983 [the M2609 with a 2.6 metre wind wheel], and in 1984 went into commercial production. In 1990 4 models became available and the company expanded their sales to the other Spanish provinces. In 1995 the company entered the international market. A 10 metre mill was erected in 1997. Address = Raval Santa Anna, 30 - 32, Mont Blanc - Tarragona, Spain. They manufacture one basic design in a series of sizes. M-1806 = 1.8 metres, M-3009 = 3 metres, M-4012 = 4 metres, M-5015 = 5 metres, M-7015 = 7 metres.
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