Fair wind blows for wind export
The Switch The Switch produces full-power converters and permanent magnet generators for wind power plants.Despite the recession The Switch is doing well. The rapid growth of turnover and personnel has been going on since 2007, and continues rocketing.
– 2009 went very well, and we witnessed brisk growth, says Vice President of The Switch, Reijo Takala.
This far the growth was fastest in 2008, when the company’s turnover tripled in a period of one year. Although the business environment has become much more challenging, the future continues to look bright.
– Growth will continue, although we are likely to expect a slight slowdown since last year. But still, it will continue being strong compared to other industries.
Entering world markets
Along with The Switch other significant Finnish companies are Moventas Oy, a producer of wind turbine gears and the wind turbine manufacturer WinWind Oy.
– Wind power plant expertise is very advanced in Finland, Takala confirms.
He also points out that despite Finnish expertise the country’s wind power market is extremely small.
– It is all about political decisions. Finland isn’t in special favor of building wind power, so our markets are elsewhere.
Internationally speaking, wind power and other renewable energies grow alongside with climate change. Up to 95 per cent of the production of The Switch is exported.
– Our primary markets are now in China and Europe, but in the future we are looking forward to exporting also to India and South America, Takala discloses.
Unique expertise
Last year The Switch opened a brand new, 3700 square meter business premises in the South-Eastern Finnish municipality of Lappeenranta, where the company produces for instance 300-400 small and medium, maximum 20-ton wind power generators every year.
– Our new business premises give us a chance to continue developing our operational conditions, and thus enables future growth, Takala predicts.
The Switch has unique expertise in producing full-power converter systems for applications within renewable and decentralized energy production. Although competitors spring up through new technologies, the role of The Switch continues being strong.
– Competition has become tougher, but we have managed to develop with the same speed, if not faster. It is particularly important for us that we have managed to reach a mass production level in production and deliveries, Takala says.
www.theswitch.com
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