EANS-News: Nordex increasing vertical integration and recruiting new employees
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Personnel/Strategic management decisions/Rotor blade production
Subtitle: Internal production of rotor blades to be increased from 2013
EUR 10 million to be spent on new production line
Additional 130 production operatives to be recruited
Rostock (euro adhoc) - Rostock, 2 November 2012. "We are looking for up to an
additional 130 employees for our planned internal production facilities in
Rostock for our new and larger rotor blades," says Jens Martin Hoika, who
manages Nordex's Rostock and international plants. The NR 58.5 rotor blade is
used with the N117/2400 wind turbine, which is increasingly proving to be a
sales hit. Shortly after commencing series production of the new turbine in
summer 2012, Nordex was fully booked out for the rest of the current year. Says
Hoika: "As Nordex wants to address the sharp rise in demand for the N117 as
comprehensively as possible, we will add two production lines for the NR 58.5 to
our facilities."
With a length of around 58 metres, the rotor blade is the main new innovation
featured by the N117/2400. Substantially longer yet lighter than its
predecessor, it is partially made from carbon. This new type of structure means
that Nordex can only source the rotor blade from selected suppliers. For this
reason, the company had planned from the outset to produce the rotor blade
itself from 2013 onwards.
"Assembling the right team is doubtless the most important task but far from
being the only one," explains Hoika. Nordex will be spending a total of some EUR
10 million on the expansion of its production facilities. The new investments
will primarily entail tools and machinery. Indeed, the first mould for the blade
has already been installed in Rostock.
Looking forward, Nordex wants to produce an annual volume of up to 400 rotor
blades from this series at its Rostock plant. This will be sufficient to fit
more than 130 N117 turbines with its own rotors, producing a total output of 320
megawatts. Up to 200 operatives will be assigned to this production line at the
end of 2013. Some of them will come from the Company's core workforce. These are
experienced employees who have been producing rotor blades for other Nordex
turbines for years. Today, the rotor blade production facility has 270
employees, around 200 of whom are technical operatives. However, Nordex will
need to recruit and train a further 130 employees or so and is working with the
Rostock labour agency in this connection.
With the commencement of internal production of the NR 58.5, Nordex expects
sales of the N117/2400 to rise substantially. Demand is particularly coming from
the established markets such as Germany, where many projects are being planned
for sites characterised by weaker wind conditions. It is precisely for such
locations that Nordex has developed its new wind power system and where the
turbine can make the most of its strengths. It is able to achieve an
above-average capacity factor of up to 40 percent at such weak-wind locations.
Explains state energy minister Volker Schlotmann: "The 'Energiewende' in
Germany calls for efficient wind power systems allowing wind power to be
generated economically in non-coastal regions. If this leads to the creation of
jobs in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania then so much the better. There is still
considerable potential for on-shore growth. What is more, on-shore is still the
most inexpensive way of producing green electricity."
About Nordex
As one of the technological leaders in multi-megawatt wind power systems, Nordex
is benefiting from the trend in favour of large-scale turbines. The range
comprises one of the world's largest series-produced wind power systems
(N90/2500, N100/2500, N117/2400). To date, over 1,900 turbines of this type have
been installed around the world. This experience with multi-megawatt turbines
gives Nordex a decisive lead over most of its competitors. Nordex has installed
a total of around 5,000 turbines with an aggregate capacity of more than 7,800
MW all around the world. With exports accounting for more than 80 percent of its
business, Nordex SE plays a key role in international high-growth regions. The
Company has offices and subsidiaries in 22 countries around the world with a
total global headcount of over 2,500 employees.
For more information, please contact:
Nordex SE
Ralf Peters
Telephone: +49 40 300 30 - 1000, Telefax: - 1333
Further inquiry note:
Oliver Kayser
Investor Relations Manager
Tel.: +49 (0)40 30030-1024
E-Mail: okayser@nordex-online.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Nordex SE
Langenhorner Chaussee 600
D-22419 Hamburg
phone: +49 (0)40 30030-1000
FAX: +49 (0)40 30030-1101
mail: info@nordex-online.com
WWW: http://www.nordex-online.com
sector: Alternative energy
ISIN: DE000A0D6554, DE0000A0D66L2
indexes: TecDAX, CDAX, HDAX, Prime All Share, Technology All Share, ÖkoDAX
stockmarkets: free trade: Berlin, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart,
regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt
language: English