| Type | Publicly traded Aktieselskab |
|---|---|
| Traded as | OMX: VWS |
| Industry | Wind power industry |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Founder(s) | Peder Hansen |
| Headquarters | Aarhus, Denmark |
| Key people | Ditlev Engel (President and CEO), Bent Erik Carlsen (Chairman) |
| Products | Wind turbines |
| Revenue | €6.920 billion (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | €310 million (2010)[1] |
| Profit | €156 million (2010)[1] |
| Total assets | €7.066 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Total equity | €2.754 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Employees | 23,250 (end 2010)[1] |
| Website | www.vestas.com |
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world,[2][3] but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009. The company operates manufacturing plants in Denmark, Germany, India, Italy, Romania, Britain, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Australia, China, and the United States,[4] and employs more than 20,000 people globally.[5]
After a sales slump in 2005,[4] Vestas recovered and was voted Top Green Company of 2006.[6] In late 2008 the company announced a manufacturing expansion in Colorado.[7][8] In August 2010, Vestas also announced a significant expansion of its North American headquarters in Portland, Oregon.[9] In October 2010, the company announced it was closing some of its factories in Scandinavia, with the loss of 3000 jobs.[10][11]
As of 2011, Vestas wind turbines generate enough electricity to provide for 21 million people. In January 2011, Vestas won the $1.5m (£940,000) Zayed Future Energy Prize in Abu Dhabi.[12]
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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,[13] and produced wind turbines exclusively from 1989.[14]
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 with a 28% market share[4] and has continued to increase production although market share has slid to between 12.5[2] and 14%[3] (depending on source) as other manufacturers have also increased production.
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.[15]
Vestas has installed over 41,000 wind turbines for a capacity of just under 40 GW[14] in 63 countries on five continents.[16] The company employs more than 22,000 people globally,[5] 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.[17]
The company's North American headquarters was relocated in 2002 from Palm Springs, California to Portland, Oregon.[18][19] On December 1, 2008 Vestas announced plans to expand its North American headquarters in Portland through construction of a 600,000-square-foot (56,000 m2) new building, but this plan was mothballed in 2009 due to the economic recession, and in August 2010 the company announced a revised plan, scaled back in size, to expand its Portland headquarters by renovating an existing-but-vacant 172,000 sq ft (16,000 m2) building.[9] At that time, Vestas employed about 400 in Portland and committed to add at least 100 more employees there within five years; the new building will have space for up to 600 workers.[9]
Vestas employs a further 750 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[7], and up to 125 engineers at a 47,675 sq ft (4,429.2 m2) product development site in Louisville, Colorado[20]. Vestas also operates a tower facility in Pueblo, Colorado.[20] Vestas said it decided to build its North American production facilities in Colorado because of the state’s central location, extensive transportation infrastructure and rail system, existing manufacturing base, and skilled workforce.[20] Vestas wind turbine blades are made from high strength, light weight carbon fiber supplied by Zoltek Companies Inc. in St. Louis, MO.
Some of the more recent wind turbine models made by Vestas are listed below.[21] The rotor diameter (in meters) follows the V.
In July 2009, it was announced that Vestas' operations on the Isle of Wight in England would 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 nationalisation to save their jobs.[24]
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".[25]
As part of this gradual shift in production away from Europe and towards China and the US, in October 2010, the company announced it was closing 5 factories in Denmark and Sweden, with the loss of 3000 jobs.[10][11]
In November 2010, Vestas shut down the 70-person staff advisory department 'Vestas Excellence', responsible for securing competitiveness, handling suppliers, Quality Assurance and globalization.[26][27]
Vestas has a strategy of focusing on customers and quality rather than turbine price and market share.[2]
In January 2011, Vestas won the $1.5m (£940,000) Zayed Future Energy Prize in Abu Dhabi. As of 2011, Vestas wind turbines generate enough electricity to provide for 21 million people. [28]
Vestas spent €92 million ($128 million), or 1.4% of revenue, on research and development in 2009. It has filed 787 wind turbine patents (227 in 2010) according to United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO), while General Electric has 666 and Siemens Wind Power has 242.[29]
In October 2009, Vestas and QinetiQ claimed a successful test of a stealth wind turbine blade mitigating radar reflection problems for aviation.[30][31][32][33]
In December 2010 Vestas were developing of a 7 MW offshore turbine,[14] with a 164 m rotor diameter. Prototypes of it will be manufactured at Lindø due to size, crane and port access requirements, but series production will occur in England.[34] DONG Energy will test a prototype in the sea off Frederikshavn in 2013, at a cost of DKK 240 million.[35][36]
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