Mayor Richard M. Daley today welcomed Nordex USA, Inc. to Chicago as the German manufacturer of wind turbines opened its new North American Headquarters at 300 S. Wacker Dr. <\/P>
\u201cOn behalf of all Chicagoans I want to say how pleased we are that Nordex has selected Chicago,\u201d Daley said in a news conference at the company offices.<\/P>
\u201cNordex is one of the world\u2019s leading manufacturers of wind turbines with operations in 18 countries and has 32 key staff on board now and expects to employ about 100 people here within the next years,\u201d he said.<\/P>
Daley said Chicago\u2019s ability to provide companies with a strong and vibrant talent pool, a central location with easy access to the world and an outstanding quality of life has helped the city succeed in gaining business investment and expansion, despite the difficult economic times.<\/P>
In 2008 major national and international companies chose Chicago for their corporate headquarters, including MillerCoors, Veolia Environment \u2013 which is the world\u2019s largest environmental services company — and Aviva, the world\u2019s 5th largest insurance company.<\/P>
The Mayor said he was especially pleased that one of the reasons Nordex became interested in Chicago was because of the environmental leadership example the City has set.<\/P>
\u201cEarly in my administration, I made a commitment to enhance our environment and make Chicago the most environmentally friendly city in the nation. We have been committed to investing in green businesses and industries because these jobs represent the future,\u201d Daley said.<\/P>
\u201cAnd that, in turn, promotes economic development throughout our city and improves the quality of life for all our residents,\u201d he said.<\/P>
He thanked Ralf Sigrist, Nordex President and Chief Executive Officer for the company\u2019s decision to locate in Chicago. \u201cCentering our business in Chicago brings us closer to our customers and suppliers and puts us in the heart of the wind industry,\u201d said Sigrist. \u201cIt will also support our strategy of generating 20% of global revenues here, while helping the US to achieve its ambitious renewable energy goals and to build a vibrant domestic industry.\u201d<\/P>
\u201cWhen a company such as Nordex makes a commitment like this one, it sends a strong message to the business community that our leaders work together and that Chicago can meet the needs of any company in the world \u2013 from the largest to the smallest,\u201d he said.<\/P>
Nordex, which will be exhibiting at the Windpower 2009 conference next week, will celebrate the official opening of its offices on Tuesday, May 5.<\/P>
Nordex in the US<\/STRONG><\/P> With global headquarters in Germany, Nordex is one of the fastest growing wind turbine producers in the world, currently employing 2,200 people. Specializing in large-scale, multi-megawatt turbines, the company recently recorded a fourth consecutive year of over 50% sales growth.<\/P> \u201cNordex sees the US as one of the biggest growth markets for wind energy in the world,\u201d said Sigrist. \u201cThat\u2019s why in addition to setting up operations in Chicago, we will also manufacture our turbines here.\u201d<\/P> In October of 2008, Nordex announced plans to build a manufacturing plant in Jonesboro, Arkansas. The company will invest approximately $100 million in the factory, which will employ more than 700 people in Arkansas and around100 people in Chicago by 2015. It will manufacture every component of a wind turbine except the tower, with a target annual assembly capacity of 750 megawatts. Construction is slated to begin this year, with production planned for 2010. <\/P> \u201cEstablishing a firm operating and manufacturing presence will enable Nordex to keep better pace with strong demand in the US, which has outstripped our ability to import turbines manufactured abroad fast enough,\u201d said Sigrist. \u201cFrom Chicago we will be in the capital of the wind industry, and from Jonesboro we will be at a geographic center for product distribution.\u201d Nordex is also gearing up to build a home-grown supply chain in the US. <\/P> In 2008, Nordex surpassed the one billion euro threshold, achieving sales of EUR 1.136 billion, or USD 1.533 billion, and produced the 1000th<\/SUP> turbine of the N80\/N90\/N100 class. <\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mayor Richard M. Daley today welcomed Nordex USA, Inc. to Chicago as the German manufacturer of wind turbines opened its new North American Headquarters at 300 S. Wacker Dr. \u201cOn behalf of all Chicagoans I want to say how pleased we are that Nordex has selected Chicago,\u201d Daley said in a news conference at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_trash_the_other_posts":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1090],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press","category-investor-relations"],"yoast_head":"\n