$100 MIL, 700 JOB WIND PLANT BREAKS GROUND

Nordex Celebrates Groundbreaking for Wind Turbine Plant, Details Hiring Schedule
September 11, 2009 (Globe Newswire via Reuters)

"Nordex USA, Inc., a leading manufacturer of utility-scale wind turbines… held a
groundbreaking celebration at the construction site of its $100 million manufacturing facility in Jonesboro, Arkansas…[and detailed] plans to hire 700 people by 2014…

"Leaders from government, business and the community attended the celebration,
expressing hope for the revitalization of American manufacturing and the birth
of a new industry in Arkansas…"

A Nordex nacelle in the Rostock, Germany, plant. (click to enlarge)

"Nordex is already seeing a pick up in the market. It recently completed the 62.5
megawatt "Highland" wind farm in Pennsylvania and is working on further
projects. Parent company Nordex AG attributes much of its profit growth to the
U.S. market. The U.S. accounted for 12 percent of the company's global sales, up
from roughly one percent in the previous year…

"Hiring will span about four years. Nordex plans to locally employ close to 100
people by the end of 2010…Recruiting will begin in January followed by hiring in the spring. The nacelle workforce will gradually reach up to 240 people as the plant approaches full capacity over the next two and a half years…Recruiting and hiring will follow a similar pattern for the rotor blade facility, which will be built in phase two of the construction…"

click to enlarge

"Besides direct hires, Nordex is also creating jobs through the contracting of
services…H&M Company, Inc. of Jackson, Tennessee…is dedicating between 250 and 300 workers to the construction project…[and] the company is localizing its supply chain…

"The Jonesboro operation will be an original equipment manufacturer (OEM)
producing one of the largest classes of wind turbines in the world, the 2.5
megawatt N90 and N100…The $40 million nacelle assembly plant will have 115,000 square feet of production space, 10,000 square feet for a Training Academy and 35,000 square feet of office space. The $60 million rotor blade facility is then expected to begin production in late 2012…Heating and cooling at the plant will be powered entirely by geothermal energy…"