| 75th Anniversary
turbine was installed at Invergeldie Lodge near Crieff in Scotland in 1919. In 1928, the water turbine business of James
Gordon & Co. was taken over giving our company its current name of Gilbert Gilkes & Gordon Ltd. James Gordon’s principal assets were a range of water turbine designs, a group of overseas agents and a London office. As a result, Gilkes export sales became and remained a very important part of the business. Since then, over 1,000 Turgo installations ranging
from 25kW to 7.5MW have been established worldwide. Gilkes has supplied Turgo turbines to 65 countries across various continents including Grytviken in South Georgia (the southernmost hydro installation globally), Alaska, Japan, and Zimbabwe.
How has your company played a role in shaping the evolution of the industry over the past decades?
In the 1800s, the firm gained recognition for supplying water turbines and expanded its offerings to include small-scale machines for university engineering laboratories. The first such machine was sold to Moscow University around 1890 after Gilbert Gilkes acquired the company, renaming it Gilbert Gilkes & Co. This move allowed the company to stay connected with progressive engineering ideas through academic installations. From the 1930’s to the 1970’s the company continued to innovate and further improved the Turgo turbine, in 1936 and 1960, often working with academia to validate results.
In 1934 the Company installed its own water turbine testing facility – thought to be the first for any UK water turbine manufacturer. Recently, between 2011 and 2017, Gilkes funded
three PhD research projects in collaboration with Lancaster University to increase the performance of our impulse turbines. These studies, embraced CFD, high-performance computing and laboratory testing to achieve significant gains in efficiency over our existing Pelton and Turgo designs. The success of these projects highlighted the importance of embracing engineering simulation for maintaining Gilkes quality and competitiveness. As a result, Gilkes invested in software, hardware and expertise in fluid flow and structural analysis. CFD and FEA are now embedded at Gilkes as in-house tools to analyse and optimise all our products on a daily basis.
What are some key milestones or achievements that have defined your company’s journey in the industry? Key milestones and projects include: 1879 – first domestic hydroelectric installation in the world at Cragside, Northumberland 1895 – Eight large Vortex machines sold to Duck Reach Hydro plant, Tasmania – still running in 1953! 1897 – Sale of turbine to Queen Victoria at Balmoral 1900 – more than 1400 turbines sold at home and abroad 1919 – patent awarded for the Turgo Impulse turbine 1934 – a water turbine test facility was created at our Kendal factory 1953 – 18.5MW Pelton turbines exported to English Electric in Australia 1969 - Queen’s Award for Export Achievement
1977 – 1980 – around 40 turbines supplied to the Philippines for rural electrification. 1983 – introduced the Twin Jet Turgo Impulse Turbine 1996 – Rehabilitation of the Kinlochleven Hydro Station (first major hydro station in Britain) still serviced and maintained by Gilkes. 1996 - Received the Royal Warrant as manufacturer of water turbines. 2010 - Second Queen’s Award for Export Achievement 2015 - Commissioning of 50 UK schemes within 12 months to meet the FiT 2015 pre accreditation deadlines. 2019 - celebrated 100 years of the Turgo
The company has supplied over 6800 turbines globally, to over 80 countries.
How has the company’s approach to hydropower manufacturing evolved over the years?
Over time, companies have adapted their offerings to align with changing customer needs and technological advancements. Initially focusing on supplying only the turbine component of a hydro scheme, companies now provide comprehensive “water to wire” packages to meet complex and challenging customer requirements. These packages encompass not just water turbines but also generators, digital control solutions, switchgear, and balance of plant components essential for seamless integration and efficient operation of a hydroelectric plant. The comprehensive water to wire packages offered by companies like Gilkes are expertly assembled by their hydro team. By thoroughly understanding customer site specifications and effectively applying project management techniques, Gilkes ensures the successful delivery of projects globally, meeting deadlines and staying within budget constraints for customers worldwide. The transition from merely providing turbines
to delivering entire hydroelectric systems globally has required Gilkes to reassess its traditional manufacturing methods. Embracing a project- centric approach, the company now operates within a complex international supply chain to efficiently deliver various technical components and services to customer sites. Timely delivery of these components is crucial, as they must meet specified quality standards upon arrival for seamless assembly, installation, and commissioning by Gilkes and their partnering service providers. This meticulous process ensures that projects are executed successfully on time and within budget constraints.
Above: 16MW Pungwe B Project, Zimbabwe
About Gilkes
Throughout its 170-year history the company has supplied over 6,800 turbines to more than 85 countries worldwide,. Gilkes currently employs approximately 160 staff members, including a diverse team of skilled engineers, designers, sales engineers, and support personnel at its UK headquarters. It also has offices in Tacoma, US and Tokyo, Japan to directly serve the North American and Far East small hydro markets.
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