German turbine manufacturer Nordex to quadruple production

German turbine supplier Nordex is spending EUR 50 million to quadruple its Chinese wind turbine production capacity from an annual 225 MW today to 800 MW a year by 2011 and increase its Chinese workforce from 300 to 1600 by the same date. China is be a major production base, said CEO Thomas Richterich at last month's Wind Power Shanghai event. The company established a nacelle assembly factory in Yinchuan a year ago and a blade facility at Dongying back in January. Its other main production facility is at Rostock in Germany and it is also looking to locate a factory in the US. Richterich says Nordex, after in-depth market research, will offer its 1.5 MW turbine in China, having decided it is the right size given the local conditions. "It is easier to build production up for the 1.5 MW than the 2.3 MW," he said. Nordex is aiming to increase its 3% share of the Chinese market in 2006 to more than 15% by 2011. The aim is to assemble turbines from parts that are all made in China. It has suppliers lined up for several major components, citing Nanjing Highspeed and Accurate Gear Co and generators from Yonge as examples. Nordex reported last month that it is lining turbines up for 335 MW of capacity in 13 projects under development in China and is constructing a further 168 MW in five projects.