Keystone Tower Systems has expanded its executive team, appointing Steve Lockard to chairman of the board and making two new hires.
The company has appointed Larry Oglesby as chief operating officer and Peter Bierden as new chief growth officer.
Lockard (pictured), recently CEO of TPI Composites and past chair of the American Wind Association (now American Clean Power), joined the board in October 2020.
Keystone’s tapered spiral-welded technology “significantly drops” the cost and time to build both onshore and offshore towers, adding strength and saving steel versus traditional can-welded towers.
The company said its towers will enable turbines to reach higher for stronger winds while solving transportation constraints and opening new regions to wind power.
“Scaling up automated spiral welding of taller towers will support the wind industry’s next phase of cost reduction and growth as we map onto the need to drive the electricity sector toward net zero goals,” Lockard said.
Oglesby has held previous roles at manufacturers such as Pratt & Whitney and Danaher.
Bierden brings “decades of experience scaling industrial businesses” including almost 20 years with GE and was at the “forefront” of GE’s entry into wind energy, working with customers, suppliers, and installers to implement wind projects around the world.
“After years of preparation, we’re excited to have these three industry leaders join our team to help drive and execute our strategic growth plans over the coming years,” said Eric Smith, Keystone’s cofounder and CEO.
“By bringing together experts in tower design, technology development, and manufacturing execution, we’re rewriting the book on how wind towers are designed and built.”
A successful sub-scale demonstration project has been in operation since 2015. In 2019, the company secured Series B financing and is nearing completion of its first scale factory in Pampa, Texas.
By 2023, the company plans to offer the option of cost-effective tower fabrication on-site for wind farms across the country.