Denmark-based wind turbine manufacturer MHI Vestas Offshore Wind on Wednesday forged cooperation links with several Taiwanese material suppliers in a bid to make inroads into Taiwan’s market and markets in Southeast Asia.
MHI Vestas signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Kaohsiung-based China Steel Machinery Corp (中鋼機械) for cooperation in the manufacture of wind turbine towers; with Tienli Offshore Wind Power Technology Co Ltd (天力離岸風電科技) for the production of wind turbine blades; with Swancor Holding Co Ltd (上緯) for composite materials and fossil resins; and with Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑) for raw materials used in the production of turbine blades.
The collaboration is to enable the firm to assemble wind turbines with materials produced by the Taiwanese companies, MHI Vestas CEO Philippe Kavafyan said during the signing ceremony.
MHI Vestas was attracted by Taiwan’s advanced manufacturing capacity and the government’s keenness to explore and develop renewable energy resources, he said.
The company was founded in 2014 as a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and Vestas Wind Systems A/S.
It manufactures, installs and operates wind turbines that are used by energy companies to generate power in offshore locations.
On Tuesday, MHI Vestas was chosen by China Steel Corp (中鋼) and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners as their wind turbine supplier for their wind projects off Taiwan’s west coast.
Describing Taiwan as MHI Vestas’ priority market, Kavafyan said his company is expected to introduce new opportunities to Taiwan in the areas of employment, procurement and manufacturing.
The MOUs represent MHI Vestas’ pledge to put down roots in Taiwan, he said, adding that the company plans to push further into the Southeast Asian market in response to the government’s New Southbound Policy.
After the ceremony, Kavafyan told reporters that MHI Vestas plans to set up its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Taiwan by the second quarter of this year and that it could possibly establish a production line in the nation in about 2022, depending on licensing procedures.
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