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When I worked with Broadwind Energy, Naperville, Ill., in 2007-09, it owned companies that manufactured, installed and maintained wind energy components.

Broadwind had been founded in 2007 with the idea that it could provide customers exceptional service with less cost by offering those services close to project sites. Rather than sending a part to Europe for repair, a developer could work with Broadwind and send the component a few hundred miles and get it done less expensively and much more quickly. Another part of Broadwind’s strategy was to own companies that covered the full spectrum of the supply chain for a wind farm so it could serve a client wall-to-wall and meet all its needs. As the ad at left says:

“Some ideas are as old as the wind. Others fuel the winds of change. / We look at the world of wind energy and see it in a new way. By filling the gaps in the supply chain and integrating multiple services, we’re making it more efficient and easier for you to develop wind and lower the long-term cost of generation. /  Value-added solutions from Broadwind Energy – The Better Way.”

Broadwind needed to develop a positive brand image and communicate with a variety of audiences. This was true not only of Broadwind, but also of its five operating companies: Badger Transport, Brad Foote Gear Works, Energy Maintenance Service, RBA and Tower Tech Systems.

I was a key member of the marketing team that developed a multi-year strategic marketing plan for Broadwind that incorporated tactics for achieving brand consistency across operating platforms and developed multiple communication tools for Broadwind and its companies.