Mabey Bridge wins Repower turbine manufacturing contract
1 min read
REpower UK, part of the Hamburg-based onshore and offshore wind turbine manufacturer REpower Systems AG, has signed a preferred supplier agreement with British manufacturer, Mabey Bridge, to supply wind turbine towers for many of its UK developments. The news follows the announcement last month that Mabey Bridge will create 240 jobs in a new £38 million facility in Monmouthshire.
The deal means that the steel tubular towers will be manufactured in the UK for most of REpower's planned wind farms. The REpower nacelle and the blades will continue to be made to order at the REpower factories throughout Europe.
REpower UK managing director Rick Eggleston said sourcing the company's towers direct from the UK had been on his company's agenda for a while. "Local procurement of the towers from a reliable UK manufacturer makes sense." He added. "With 25 wind farms now running across the country, we are well on our way to delivering our 400 MW target in the spring of this year."
Lars Rytter Kristensen, the german parent company's chief supply chain officer added: "The preferred supplier agreement with Mabey Bridge confirms our commitment to build up a competitive supply chain in the UK market and will furthermore secure REpower capacity for towers in one of our core markets." Meanwhile, Mabey Bridge managing director Peter Lloyd greeted the deal as "fantastic news".
Since its launch in 2003 REpower UK has delivered 22 onshore wind farms in Scotland, England and Wales and one offshore wind farm, Project Beatrice, in the North Sea.
Based in Chepstow, South Wales, and with a history going back to the construction of Brunel's Wye railway bridge in 1849, Mabey Bridge is a specialist supplier of modular steel bridging, car parks and heavy plated steelwork. The company is part of the Mabey Group, a private family-owned group of companies with a turnover of £150 million and almost 1,000 employees. It has a turnover of £70 million and 400 employees.
