Wind turbine gearbox supplier Hansen Transmissions goes for London listing

Gearbox manufacturer Hansen Transmissions has launched a global offer of ordinary shares to institutional investors and is to apply for admission of the shares to the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities. Hansen, based in Belgium, supplies gearboxes to four of the largest manufacturers of wind turbines who use them, Vestas, Gamesa, Siemens Wind, and Hansen's parent company, Suzlon Energy. The company is also in the process of developing a customised gearbox with Repower, Suzlon's German turbine manufacturer. Hansen has two manufacturing plants in Belgium -- its original factory at Edegem, which also produces gearboxes for other industries, and a newer facility at Lommel dedicated to wind turbine gearbox manufacture. This is currently being expanded to increase production from supplying gearboxes for 2200 MW of wind plant capacity a year, to 6000 MW. It is also setting up for serial production of gearboxes for wind turbines of up to 6 MW rated capacity. The company is also expanding into India and China. Hansen CEO Ivan Brems says that a listing will help the company build upon its market position in the industry -- in particular, the large-scale multi-megawatt end of the sector -- and also expand its manufacturing capacity to meet increasing global demand. "Hansen has a long standing track record and leading position in the wind turbine gearbox industry. We believe we are well-positioned to take advantage of the expected growth in wind energy generation over the coming years."