Wind Turbine Tower Plant Joint Venture
JOINT VENTURE ESTABLISHED TO SECURE FUTURE OF MACHRIHANISH WIND TURBINE TOWERS PRODUCER
A Joint Venture between SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy plc) and Marsh Wind Technology Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Marsh Global Holdings Ltd, has been established to secure the future of Skykon wind turbine tower manufacturing and assembly plant at Machrihanish, Campbeltown, which is currently trading in administration.
The joint venture, named Wind Towers Ltd, has submitted a bid as a result of which it expects to complete the acquisition of the plant and the details should be concluded over the next few weeks. The JV has been granted 'preferred bidder status' and will now set in train a process of due diligence prior to finalising all of the arrangements. Should the bid be accepted further details will be provided on completion. In addition to producing wind turbine towers for onshore wind farms, the construction of new facilities to allow the production of turbine towers for offshore wind farms at the site is almost complete, enabling it to participate in the next phase of offshore wind developments.
The acquisition of the plant at Machrihanish would follow:
· the February 2011 formation by SSE of an alliance of companies, including Siemens, to collaborate on its offshore wind programme, with the aim of securing substantial reductions in the cost of delivered power;
· the July 2010 strategic agreement between SSE and Mitsubishi to co-operate on low carbon energy developments; and
· the April 2010 acquisition by SSE of a 15% stake in Burntisland Fabrications Ltd, the offshore energy structure fabricator.
SSE is the UK's largest generator of electricity from renewable sources. Marsh Wind Technology is a UK subsidiary of Marsh Global Holdings Ltd. which has substantial experience in manufacturing operations.
First Minister Alex Salmond said: "I'm pleased to see first-hand the work being undertaken by staff and to hear about Wind Towers' proposals to secure the future of the plant and extend its business to servicing the growing offshore wind market. The creation of the joint venture and securing of preferred bidder status are very welcome developments for Campbeltown and underline the industry's confidence in the skills of the workforce and the important role this plant can play within the renewables industry supply chain.
"Clearly more detailed discussions are required before the sale can be completed. However, I want to pay credit to SSE, Marsh and the Administrators, who have worked closely with the Scottish Government and our partners to reach this positive breakthrough. Scotland has an established wealth of skills and talent in energy engineering, as well as the natural resources, to become the green energy powerhouse of Europe. I welcome today's announcement and confidently wish Wind Towers Ltd all the best for the future as we work together to forge the new green economy."
Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of SSE, said:
"The development of a sustainable supply chain is a key priority for renewable energy developers such as SSE, and I am pleased that we are working with Marsh Wind Technology to secure the future of the Machrihanish plant. With the right business plan and management, it should be a sustainable business in every sense. As the market for offshore wind turbines develops from 2013 onwards it should be possible to expand the operation to fully utilise the excellent facilities which are now available at the site. While some restructuring may be necessary at the plant to position it for growth we would envisage the substantial majority of the workforce being retained, while the JV partners would also be looking at potential redeployment opportunities."
William Marsh said: "We are delighted to be able to expand our European supply chain footprint in partnership with SSE who has once again shown a real commitment to developing opportunities for Scotland in renewable energy. Both partners believe that this plant has an important role in building the supply chain base for the growing wind energy sector and that it will have a healthy future in the medium term as the demand for turbine components expands. It is our aim to build the Campbeltown operation into a stable and reliable partner to our customers with a singular focus on creating value in the supply chain."
Marsh Wind Technology is the UK subsidiary of Marsh Global Holdings Ltd whose principle shareholder is William Marsh. The company specializes in building integrated supply chains between North America, Europe and Asia. Marsh has substantial experience in restructuring manufacturing operations around the world and more recently led the restructuring of the company's operations in Denmark prior to acquiring them, thus positioning Marsh Wind Technology as a solid and competitive base for building a sustainable business in the wind energy industry. Marsh will now use the experience gained in Denmark to position the Machrihanish plant more competitively.
This information is provided by RNS