Facility will test rotor hubs for GE blades and offer a range of testing services to other industry partners
GE Renewable Energy Business, LM Wind Power announced today the planned acquisition of the WMC test facilities in Wieringerwerf, Netherlands. The transaction is expected to close within a few weeks' time subject to certain pre-completion conditions.
The facility will provide rotor hub testing for new GE turbines and also continue to offer blade and other testing, digital tools, research and similar services to the wider wind industry in Netherlands and elsewhere.
LM Wind Power plans to expand and develop the facility over time. The 23 current employees comprise highly-qualified experts in composites and rotor blade testing. All will be retained to help grow the business.
LM Wind Power has a growing presence in the Netherlands. It has its global management office at World Trade Center, Schiphol, with 44 employees representing 16 nationalities and a research facility in Heerhugowaard with 40 employees representing 14 nationalities. The company was acquired by GE in April 2017, a world leader in renewable energy and it continues to grow at pace, providing advanced wind turbine blades to customers all over the world.
Aart van der Pal, Chairman of the Board of WMC commented, "The acquisition of the WMC wind turbine blade test facility in Wieringerwerf secures a promising future for the 23 employees and ensures growth and opportunity for this important Dutch facility. We look forward to playing a key role in the future developments of advanced wind turbine rotor blades."
"The new test facilities will further contribute to LM Wind Power's research and development capabilities for the design and manufacture of advanced wind turbine blades and other components," said Duncan Berry CEO, LM Wind Power. "We are delighted to retain the talented existing workforce and supplement LM Wind Power and GE's growing presence in a strategic green industry in the Netherlands. These are valuable, senior, technical jobs and we provide employment to a significant and increasing number of graduates and post graduates from the best Dutch Universities including Delft, Twente, Eindhoven and Amsterdam."
LM Wind Power is the first company in the wind industry to become fully carbon neutral. For more information visit our website at www.lmwindpower.com
www.wmc.eu
Contact:
Katelyn Huber, Global Communications & Sustainability
kah@lmwindpower.com
+45 50120459
For Dutch language inquiries:
Marina Millington-Ward, Stampa Communications
marina@stampacommunications.com
++ 31 20 404 2630
About LM Wind Power
LM Wind Power is a world leading designer and manufacturer of rotor blades for wind turbines, with a global manufacturing footprint that includes blade factories in Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, India, Poland, Spain, France, Turkey and the United States. The company has produced more than 205,000 blades since 1978, corresponding to more than 93 GW installed capacity and global savings of 189 million tons of CO2 annually. LM Wind Power is a GE Renewable Energy Business. Learn more at www.lmwindpower.com or on twitter @lmwindpower
About GE Renewable Energy
GE Renewable Energy is a $10 billion start-up that brings together one of the broadest product and service portfolios of the renewable energy industry. Combining onshore and offshore wind, hydro and innovative technologies such as concentrated solar power and more recently turbine blades, GE Renewable Energy has installed more than 400+ gigawatts capacity globally to make the world work better and cleaner. With more than 22,000 employees present in more than 55 countries, GE Renewable Energy is backed by the resources of the world's first digital industrial company. Our goal is to demonstrate to the rest of the world that nobody should ever have to choose between affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy.
Follow us at www.ge.com/renewableenergy or on twitter @GErenewables