NEW SIEMENS WIND PLANT, NEW JOBS FOR KANSAS

Siemens to build wind turbine production facility in the U.S.; Additional capital investment in green technologies - 400 new jobs to be created
2009, May 5 (Siemens)

"Siemens intends to build a new production facility for wind turbines in the state of Kansas. Initially, 400 new jobs are expected to be created in the new wind turbine production facility in Hutchinson, Kansas. When production begins at this facility, Siemens will be able to even more effectively meet the strong demand for wind turbine equipment in North and South America in the future…

"…With revenues totaling EUR19 billion in fiscal year 2008 [around a quarter of Siemens’ total revenue], Siemens now has the world’s largest portfolio of environmental technologies."

Kansas made the Top 10 this year and is moving up. (click to enlarge)

"Construction of the 300,000-square-foot nacelle production facility is scheduled to begin in August 2009. A nacelle is mounted on top of the tower and supports the rotor. It houses a wind turbine’s major components for electric power generation, including the gearbox, the drive train and the control electronics.

"The nacelles to be produced in Kansas will weigh 90 tons and the first nacelle is expected to be shipped in December 2010. All nacelles produced in Hutchinson will be used in the company’s reliable 2.3-MW wind turbine product family. Initially, the factory’s planned annual output is approximately 650 nacelles – or 1,500 megawatts (MW)…"

The nacelle. (click to enlarge)

"Hutchinson is near the geographic center of the continental United States and offers a viable workforce and excellent transportation logistics. The factory will include direct loading onto rail, which will provide easy access to project locations throughout the Unites States and Canada. Shipments can also be made utilizing the barge facilities at the port of Catoosa, located 250 miles from the plant. Kansas also has excellent wind conditions. In terms of wind energy potential, this centrally located state ranks third in the U.S.

"Since entering the wind industry in 2004, Siemens has greatly expanded its worldwide manufacturing network…[with] wind turbine blade manufacturing facilities in Fort Madison, Iowa, USA, and Engesvang, [Brande and Aalborg] Denmark…and a new R&D center in Boulder, USA…Siemens’ global wind power business has grown from approximately 800 employees in 2004 to more than 5,500 today, which equals an increase of approximately 650 percent…"