USA - LM Glasfiber holds grand opening for new blade plant

Wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Glasfiber officially inaugurated its new Little Rock plant on Tuesday, its fourth production facility in North America and 13th worldwide.

In July 2007, the company announced it would open the plant in the Port of Little Rock, part of a $150 million investment that also includes the Denmark-based company's North American headquarters and a training academy.

Since then, three other companies announced they would open plants in Arkansas to build windmill blades or wind turbines.

In their reasoning for locating plants in the state, each company has cited Arkansas' proximity to wind farms and potential wind farms, the state's transportation infrastructure and a rising demand for wind energy.

"Expectations are that the global capacity of installed wind power will double in less than 10 years," CEO Roland Sunden said in a prepared statement Tuesday. North America is one of the most important markets for wind energy in the coming years, he said.

Demand is growing so rapidly that LM Glasfiber began producing blades here before its new facility was ready. The company produced its first blade in February out of an existing building in southwest Little Rock.

The company intends to continue operating out of that facility, officials said. Already, 630 people are employed by LM Glasfiber in Little Rock.

With the opening of the new plant, the company will ramp-up production and employment.

The plant will double the company's production capacity in North America. In Little Rock, the company plans to employ at least 1,000 people within five years, as production nears capacity.

LM Glasfiber's other North American plants are in Grand Forks, N.D., and Gaspe, Quebec, Canada.

Nordex USA Inc. announced last week it would invest $100 million in a wind turbine plant in Jonesboro that will eventually employ 700 people.

Earlier this month, windmill blade manufacturer Polymarin Composites USA Ltd., a subsidiary of Dutch firm Emergya Wind Technology, announced it would locate a plant in Little Rock. Wind Water Technology, a wind turbine manufacturer, will operate out of the same plant.

The two are expected to employ a total of 830 people after jointly investing $20 million.