Edcon helps power Windmill Engineering

John White, of Windmill Engineering Co., knows a thing or two about water-pumping windmills. Joining his father’s business in 1964, John has been in the industry for nearly 60 years!

With this 100+ years of generational knowledge, the Central West NSW local has been running Windmill Engineering.

Involved in the design, installation, repair and maintenance of water-pumping windmills, John and his team help rural customers access the cheapest, cleanest and most efficient power source available – wind.

As John laughs, “I’ve been environmentally friendly for more than 50 years!”

We spoke to John about all things windmills, and why he uses Edcon Steel for all of Windmill Engineering’s steel requirements.

Harnessing the power of wind

While a traditional windmill converts wind power into energy using vanes (called sails or blades), a water-pumping windmill is used, as the name suggests, for pumping water from bores, dams, springs or wells.

“Water-pumping windmills have been in Australia for more than 150 years,” John explains.

“And they’re typically used for stock and domestic watering. Not necessarily huge quantities of water, but they work slowly and steadily when you’re not even thinking about them.”

A perfect example of the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of wind-pumping windmills can be seen with a custom project performed by John and his team.

Featuring a 10ft Southern Cross windmill and a custom-built steel safety tower, the mill pumps around 15,000 litres of water every day from a bore 30 metres below and transfers it to a holding tank 500 metres away.

The simple technology not only eliminates the need for power and fuel (and the bills that go with them), but it also has a long lifespan; John’s water-pumping windmills generally last from 30 – 50 years!

Quality components for quality technology

For any type of mechanism to last for decades, quality components are essential.

John’s windmill systems are carefully designed to ensure the highest quality and longevity, and our team at Edcon Steel has had the pleasure of supplying John with the right products for more than 20 years.

“I remember searching for a new steel supplier years ago, before Edcon ever came to Bathurst,” John recalls.

“I rang around and came across some friendly people in Sydney called Edcon Steel, that would do what I wanted to do.”

“So I would drive to Sydney and pick up all my products. Then they turned up in Bathurst, which was very handy.  All the steel that I buy, I buy from Edcon Steel. I really love their can-do attitude.”

For the towers and platforms that feature on most makes and models of windmills, John typically uses mild steel to manufacture his products, then has them hot-dip galvanised to become corrosion-resistant.