Nordex opening new rotor blade production in China

After a record construction period of only around six months, Nordex AG has today started up its new rotor blade production facility in Dongying. On a floor area measuring 8,400 square meters, roughly 225 rotor blades for the NR 37 and NR 34 series are to be produced in the first year of operation, sufficient to fit out 75 S77 and S70 (1,500 kW) wind turbines. Following the completion of the ramp-up phase and extensions to the production halls, output is to be increased to roughly 800 rotor blades (400 MW). The expected total capex budget stands at EUR 20 million.

Nordex will initially be using the rotor blades from Dongying for covering demand in the Far East. As recently as in November 2006, the company opened a production facility for its S70/S77 turbines in the Chinese province of Ningxia. Looking ahead over the next few years, further production sites are to be established in China to satisfy the strong local demand. “China will evolve into one of the largest markets for wind turbines over the next few years. However, as prices are below European levels, we must produce locally. This, incidentally, is also a political requirement,” explains Thomas Richterich, CEO of Nordex AG. With major ten-ders, local manufacturing content of at least 70 percent is neces-sary.

Nordex has arranged intensive training for its staff to ensure pro-duction quality. The first teams underwent instruction at the Ger-man production facility, after which they returned to China with their trainers to pass on what they had learned to their co-workers. Says Richterich: “We have been producing in China since 1998 and are fully aware of what things need to be looked out for in lo-cal production”. By the end of 2007, Nordex plans to have roughly 350 employees in China, including some 200 in Dongying.

The city of Dongying (1.8 million inhabitants) is located on the Yel-low River delta. The decision in favor of this location was deter-mined by the good import and export infrastructure as well as the dense network of suppliers.