The new joint venture, TPI Kompozit Kanat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., will commence operations immediately from a 355,000-square-foot building in Izmir, Turkey.
The companies said because the facility is located close to water and land transportation, it will be able to not only serve the Turkish market, but also eastern Europe and north Africa as well.
TPI Kompozit will provide blades to key customers based on multi-year commitments. The JV will initially employ 350 people with the opportunity to triple the number of employees as the wind energy market in Turkey and eastern Europe expands.
“We are excited to take this next step in our company’s growth by partnering with ALKE to expand our global operations into Turkey,” said Steve Lockard, CEO of TPI Composites. “With its strong industrial and manufacturing base, Turkey will serve as an excellent hub for our eastern European operations. As the first merchant wind blade supplier in Turkey, we intend to partner with leading customers in the region to provide advanced, high-quality, cost-effective wind blades.”
Serdar Kemaloglu, a board member and CEO of ALKE, added, “We are pleased to partner with TPI in this venture. Prior to this JV, the factory we occupied was one of the largest producers of steel containers in Europe. Now, it will serve as a hub for composite blade manufacturing. With the growing demand for wind energy in Turkey, this venture will add value to the community and create many jobs.”
Energy industry analysts believe Turkey’s wind market may add 500-1,000 MW per year reaching more than 5 GW by 2015. It is estimated Turkey will install up to 20 GW by 2023, helping the country to source 30 percent of its electricity generation from renewable forms of energy by that time.
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