Vestas

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Vestas Wind Systems A/S
Type Public (OMX: VWS)
Founded 1945
Founder(s) Peder Hansen
Headquarters Randers, Denmark
Key people Ditlev Engel (President and CEO), Bent Erik Carlsen (Chairman of the board)
Industry Wind power industry
Products Wind turbines
Revenue €6.035 billion (2008)[1]
Operating income ▲ €668 million (2008)[1]
Profit ▲ €511 million (2008)[1]
Employees 20,829 (end 2008)[1]
Website www.vestas.com
Vestas V47-660kW wind turbine at the American Wind Power Center in Lubbock, Texas

Vestas Wind Systems is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines, currently the largest in the world with a 28% market share.[2] The company operates manufacturing plants in Denmark, Germany, India, Italy, Britain, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Australia, China, and the United States,[2] and employs more than 20,000 people globally.[3]

After a sales slump in 2005,[2] Vestas recovered and was voted Top Green Company of 2006.[4] In December, 2008, Vestas announced a major expansion of its North American headquarters in Portland, Oregon.[5] In late 2008 the company also announced a manufacturing expansion in Colorado.[6][7]

Contents

[edit] History

Vestas was founded in 1945 by Peder Hansen as "Vestjysk Stålteknik A/S" (West-Jutlandish steel technology). The company initially manufactured household appliances, moving its focus to agricultural equipment in 1950, intercoolers in 1956, and hydraulic cranes in 1968. It entered the wind turbine industry in 1979.[8]

In 2003, the company merged with the Danish wind turbine manufacturer NEG Micon to create the largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world, under the banner of Vestas Wind Systems. After an operational loss in 2005, Vestas recovered in 2006, and continues to have 28% market share.[2]

In February 2009, the company announced the production of two new turbine types, the 3-megawatt V112 and 1.8-megawatt V100. The new models will be available in 2010.[9]

[edit] Operations

Vestas has installed over 39,000 wind turbines in 63 countries on five continents.[10] The company employs more than 20,000 people globally,[3] and has built production facilities in more than 12 countries. It is currently expanding and opening up new production facilities in China, Spain and the United States.[11] Vestas announced expansion of its North American headquarters in Portland, Oregon from 350 to at least 1200 employees on December 1, 2008.[5] It employs a further 200 persons at a blade manufacturing facility in Windsor, Colorado, and plans to add 1400 jobs at a new blade and nacelle assembly facility that is under construction near Brighton, Colorado.[6]

[edit] Products

Some of the more recent wind turbine models made by Vestas are listed below.[12] The rotor diameter (in meters) follows the V.

  • V47-660kW
  • V52-850kW
  • V60-850kW (China)[13]
  • V66-1.75MW
  • V80-1.8MW
  • V80-2.0MW
  • V82-1.65MW
  • V90-1.8MW
  • V90-2.0MW
  • V90-3.0MW
  • V100-1.8MW
  • V112-3.0MW

[edit] Business strategy

In July 2009, Vestas' operations on the U.K.'s Isle of Wight were announced to close due to lack of demand, affecting 525 jobs there and 100 jobs in Southampton. Approximately 25 workers at the wind turbine factory on the island occupied the administration offices in protest on 20 July 2009, demanding nationalization to save their jobs.[14]

In August 2009 Vestas hired more than 5,000 extra workers for its new factories in China, the United States, and Spain. The company said it was "expanding heavily in China and the US because these markets were growing the fastest, in contrast to the sluggish pace of wind farm development in the UK".[15]

[edit] See also

Wikinews

[edit] References

Search Wikinews Wikinews has related news: Vestas Cowes rooftop occupiers: "Save the environment, scuttle a NIMBY"
  1. ^ a b c d "Annual Report 2008". Vestas. http://www.vestas.com/files//Filer/EN/Investor/Company_announcements/2009/090211-CA_UK-04.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-04. 
  2. ^ a b c d Goska Romanowicz (21 March 2007). "Profits soar for top wind turbine maker". Environmental Data Interactive Exchange. Faversham House Group Ltd. http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=12798&channel=0. Retrieved 2009-01-22. 
  3. ^ a b Vestas History
  4. ^ Portfolio 21: Vestas Wind Systems Top Green Company of 2006
  5. ^ a b "Wind-Power Co. Plans To Expand In Portland". KPTV. 2008-12-01. http://www.kptv.com/money/18180440/detail.html. Retrieved 2008-12-01 {dead link}. 
  6. ^ a b "Wind Turbine Maker Vestas To Add 1,350 Colorado Jobs". KCNC. 2008-08-16. http://cbs4denver.com/seenon/vestas.colorado.wind.2.796234.html. Retrieved 2009-02-11. 
  7. ^ Vestas Breaks Ground in Colorado
  8. ^ Vestas history: 1898-1969
  9. ^ Invest in Denmark
  10. ^ http://www.vestas.com/en/about-vestas/profile.aspx
  11. ^ Wind as a modern energy source: the Vestas view
  12. ^ We face the challenge Vestas films
  13. ^ "V60-850 kW" (PDF). http://www.vestas.com/Files/Filer/Country%20sites/China/Vestas_V_60_China_LR.PDF. Retrieved 2009-08-17. 
  14. ^ Matthew Weaver and Steven Morris (21 July 2009). "Staff occupy Isle of Wight wind turbine plant in protest against closure". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/21/wind-turbine-factory-occupation. Retrieved 2009-07-21. 
  15. ^ Vestas expands wind turbine manufacturing in China and US as British demand collapses

[edit] External links

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