31. July 2026
News

Who services SEG, Woodward and IDS wind turbine converters today?

The names have changed over the years. The engineering heritage behind these converter platforms continues with ConverterTec.

If you operate wind turbines commissioned over the past three decades, you have probably come across converter systems carrying names such as SEG, Woodward or IDS.

The company name on the converter cabinet, the service manual or the spare parts list often reflects a different stage in the history of the business rather than a different technology.

For wind farm operators, that creates a practical question.

Who supports these converter platforms today?

Today, ConverterTec supports these converter platforms with repairs, spare parts, technical support, upgrades and long-term lifecycle solutions, building on decades of engineering expertise developed through their continuous evolution.

The engineering heritage behind today’s ConverterTec Aftermarket & Service

The engineering journey behind today’s ConverterTec began with SEG, which entered the wind energy industry in the 1990s and developed converter technology for some of the earliest commercial wind turbine platforms.

Over the following years, the business evolved through different ownership structures and company names, including Woodward and later IDS, while continuing to develop converter technology for the wind industry.

In 2020, the wind converter business was acquired by Aurelius Group, and ConverterTec was established. Today, ConverterTec continues to build on the engineering expertise, technical knowledge and practical experience developed throughout this evolution.

For customers operating these converter platforms, this means access to decades of accumulated engineering knowledge alongside modern repair, upgrade and lifecycle solutions.

Which converters and components are supported today?

Every converter platform developed under the SEG, Woodward and IDS names is supported today, alongside current ConverterTec platforms. That covers repairs, spare parts, upgrades and retrofits, field service and technical support across the installed base.

At component level, support runs from complete power stacks down to individual boards. It includes IGBT modules and capacitor banks from the MP1, NGx and NG03 generations, CSC4, CSC|X and DCU controllers, IMC modules, DC limiters and choppers, MFR300 protection relays, IDS rack controller boards, IDS IGBTs and capacitor banks, and main circuit breakers and contactors.

That list is not exhaustive and is not meant to be. Converter fleets of this age contain parts that never appear in any catalogue. If you have a designation that is not named here, send it to us and we will tell you what support exists for it. In most cases the answer is more positive than operators expect. Details of the repair workflow are on the converter repair service page.

Which wind turbine platforms use these converter systems?

Converter platforms connected to this engineering heritage have been installed in thousands of wind turbines worldwide over the past three decades.

If your fleet includes any of the following, there is a good chance the converter in the tower traces back to this engineering line:

Nordex Beta, Gamma and Delta 3k and 4k
RePower and Senvion MM, MD, 3XM, 5M and 6M
Ecotecnia, Alstom and GE ECO
GE 1.X
Suzlon S9.x and S11.x
Fuhrlander MD and FL2500
DeWind D4 and D6
Sewind

The range runs from 600 kW machines commissioned in the late nineties to multi megawatt platforms still in mid life. That spread is the reason a specialised aftermarket exists at all.

If you’re unsure whether your wind turbines use a converter platform connected to this engineering heritage, our team can help identify the installed system and discuss the available support options.

Why does the original engineering lineage matter when a converter fails?

Diagnosis starts from design data, not from guesswork

A converter fault is rarely a single dead component. It is a symptom, and the same symptom can originate in the gate driver, the DC link, the control board or the grid side. Access to the original schematics, firmware versions and factory test limits shortens that search from days to hours, and it is the main reason repeat failures stay rare.

Obsolescence is a component level problem, not a converter level one

Turbines are financed over twenty to thirty years. Power semiconductors, electrolytic capacitors and protection relays are not. Manufacturers discontinue parts on ten to fifteen year cycles, which means a converter can be in perfectly good condition while three of its components no longer exist as new stock.

Replacing them is an engineering decision, not a catalogue lookup. A capacitor that matches the original dimensions can still carry a different ripple current rating, a different ESR and a different expected life at operating temperature. Getting that judgment wrong does not show up on the test bench. It shows up eighteen months later, in the tower, in winter. This is why converter spare parts for these platforms are specified against the original design requirements rather than against a physical outline.

Fleet history is data no independent workshop has

With more than 24,500 converters in service, failure patterns become visible that no single wind farm ever sees. A board revision that fails more often above a certain ambient temperature. A capacitor batch that ages faster in coastal humidity. That history feeds directly into how a repair is carried out and what is recommended alongside it.

What changes once a converter passes twenty years in service?

Fleets built between 1997 and 2010 are moving into a phase where the economics shift. Repair remains the fastest route back to production, but two further questions start to appear alongside it.

The first is supply. As original components reach end of life, availability stops being automatic and lead time becomes the real cost of a failure. Stocking strategy matters far more at year twenty than it did at year five, and it is worth agreeing before the first long outage rather than during it.

The second is control obsolescence. Older controller generations limit what the turbine can do, particularly as grid codes tighten. This is where upgrade and retrofit options become a real alternative. Where work has to happen in the field, our field service team carries it out on site.

Looking beyond the company name

The name on the converter cabinet tells only part of the story.

Whether your documentation references SEG, Woodward, IDS, Efacec or ConverterTec, those names reflect different stages in the evolution of the wind converter business over the past three decades.

For wind farm operators, the priority remains the same: keeping turbines generating power reliably while extending the lifetime of valuable assets.

Today, ConverterTec continues to support these converter platforms with repairs, spare parts, field service, technical support, upgrades and long-term lifecycle solutions.

If your fleet includes converter platforms connected to this engineering heritage, our engineering team is ready to help identify the platform and recommend the most suitable repair, spare part or upgrade solution.

Frequently asked questions

Is ConverterTec the same company as Woodward?

No. Woodward Inc. is a separate and independent company, still active in its own markets. ConverterTec is the wind converter business that operated within Woodward between 2006 and 2020. In 2020 it was acquired by Aurelius Group and continued as ConverterTec, with the same engineering organization and the same site in Kempen.

Who supports SEG wind turbine converters today?

ConverterTec. SEG is the original name of the same organization, founded in 1969 and active in wind energy since 1995. Repairs, spare parts, upgrades and retrofits, field service and technical support are all available for SEG era platforms.

Are IDS converter spare parts still available?

Yes. IDS rack controller boards, IDS Power stacks, IGBTs and IDS capacitor banks are supported, following the acquisition of IDS Integral Drive Systems AG in 2011.

Our converters were built by Efacec. Are they covered?

Yes, the units are supported by ConverterTec Aftermarket & Service.

Who do operators in North America contact?

Mark Rush, based in Loveland, Colorado, on +1 970 227 9597. For all other regions, contact our service team directly.

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