Investment in tower factory

Delattre Levivier Maroc (DLM), a Moroccan leader in heavy metal construction, has invested MAD 75 million (EUR 6.9 million) in building a factory for the manufacture of wind turbine towers at Tit Mellil in Casablanca. At full capacity the factory should be able to roll out 300 towers a year, catering to both the home and export market, and will employ around 410 people. The new factory's first job is to supply Gamesa with 107 towers for a 140 MW installation currently building near Tangier. This is not DLM's first foray into the sector. It also supplied towers for Vestas machines at Morocco's first wind energy installation at Al Koudia Al Baida and was previously contracted by Gamesa to supply a 60 MW plant at Essaouira, completed in 2007. DLM has decided to focus on wind energy as one of its core activities, considering it to be a market with "a high added value." Last April, the company raised MAD 91.1 million to fund its expansion plans through a partial listing of its shares on the Morocco stock exchange.