TPI and Vestas partner to open new China-based facility
TPI Composites, Inc. announces a multiyear supply agreement with Vestas to provide blades for the new V150-4.2 MW wind turbine for global markets.
TPI Composites, Inc., (TPI, Scottsdale, AZ, US), the largest US-based independent manufacturer of composite wind blades, announced March 19 that it has signed a multiyear supply agreement with Vestas Wind Systems A/S (Aarhus, Denmark) to provide blades from four manufacturing lines (with option to add more lines) for the new V150-4.2 MW wind turbine for global markets.
The blades will be produced at a new facility in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China, which is scheduled to open for production in the first half of 2019. TPI’s new manufacturing hub will be designed to be state-of-the-art and able to reliably and cost effectively serve China and global wind markets via land and by water from the port of Yangzhou. The manufacturing complex, located on a 20-hectare site, will initially be 80,000 m2 with the ability to expand and serve multiple customers. In addition to blades, the manufacturing complex will also be capable of producing precision molding and assembly system in a new tooling manufacturing facility.
“We are pleased Vestas has chosen TPI as its outsourcing partner for its next generation wind turbine and we are excited to announce a significant expansion in China with a new world-class manufacturing operation for wind blades and wind blade tooling,” says Steve Lockard, president and CEO of TPI Composites.
“With this agreement, TPI Composites will produce blades for Vestas’ market-leading V150-4.2 MW turbine, which uses Vestas’ longest and most advanced blades, highlighting our ability to continuously build and sustain supply chain flexibility that is critical in today’s global wind energy market,” says Jean-Marc Lechêne, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Vestas.
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