North Wales civil engineering company, Jones Bros, is set to make a powerful impact on its debut appearance at national renewable energy show BWEA31 in Liverpool next month.
It will use cutting edge technology to take industry peers on the virtual flight of their lives – high above a wind-farm.

The firm, which is nearing completion of its biggest ever wind farm contract at Crystal Rig II, Dunbar, Scotland, has commissioned leading software experts to create its exhibition centre-piece.

State-of-the-art visualisation techniques will give visitors to its stand a bird’s eye view of the massive Crystal Rig II site.

Via a 42 inch televisual screen they will enjoy a realistic airborne tour, including the ability to control their own flight up to and around the wind turbines.

A second 42 inch screen will showcase specially-commissioned state-of-the-art 3D images of specialist pieces of civil engineering plant owned by Jones Bros. So advanced is the technology that the images appear in 3D without the need to wear 3D glasses.

It will be the first time Jones Bros has exhibited at the annual national British Wind Energy Association exhibition where more than 220 energy companies will showcase their products and services. It promises to be a stunning debut following the company’s decision to recruit the Centre for Advanced Software Technology (CAST) Ltd to create a crowd-pulling focal point for its stand.

CAST is based at the Technium CAST building, Bangor, North Wales, and is part of the Technium Network, a flagship Welsh Assembly Government initiative, supported by Bangor University, which draws on latest advances in global technologies to help local companies develop new products and enhance skills and services.

CAST CEO, Karen Padmore, said 3D visualisation technology is an excellent, cost effective way for businesses to show clients or the public an overall vision of a development.

“We can create a programme which takes viewers on a pre-determined tour or provide an interactive programme so they are free to virtually explore a site for themselves – entering different rooms of a building, for instance, or in this case touring the wind farm.”

Jones Bros Contracts Director, John Dielhof, said: “The technology is extremely impressive, with many potential uses. It is a perfect communication tool which will enable us to show people a truly realistic view of the Crystal Rig II site without their having to be there in person.”
Family-owned Jones Bros is building a reputation as a niche wind farm balance of plant provider, having been an early leader in developing expertise to construct infrastructure for the renewable energy sector.

In 2004, it completed work at the 39-turbine Cefn Croes wind farm, Aberystwyth, Wales, the UK’s largest at the time. The Crystal Rig II contract, started last year, is on schedule to finish in 2010, and Jones Bros has just secured another contract with Dutch energy giants, Eneco, to build the infrastructure for a new wind farm near Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire, which will be Eneco’s first entry into the UK renewables market.

Jones Bros representatives at BWEA31 will be rubbing shoulders with fellow contractors, utilities firms, leading manufacturers, developers, financiers, NGOs and research institutes – all with an interest in renewable energy. Leading politicians including Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, and Shadow Energy Minister, Charles Hendry, will be among keynote speakers at the three-day event.

The exhibition takes place at Liverpool’s landmark ACC venue on Mersey River Waterfront, next to the famous Albert Dock, from October 20-22. The newly built ACC is one of the most sustainable venues in Europe, designed to halve its potential CO2 emissions. It even has its very own wind turbines.