Broadwind Energy Revenues Surge on New Wind Turbine Tower Orders

Good news from Naperville-based Broadwind Energy; the wind manufacturing and services conglomerate announced this week that new orders from its towers division have increased in the past year.

The Chicago-area company, which manufactures gears in Cicero and towers in Manitowoc, Wisconsin is a prime example of how the wind industry is creating well-paying manufacturing jobs throughout the Midwest, and this recent success should serve as a reminder to policymakers that windpower is a growth engine in today's economy.

According to an article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

The company said revenue at its towers and weldments division totaled $116.9 million in 2011, up from $76.2 million in 2010. The increase was largely attributable to the cost of steel being included in the 2011 towers, whereas it was not in many of the 2010 towers Broadwind built, the company said.

Tower orders rose in 2011, to $92 million from $85 million. The company said in a filing with securities regulators that it is starting 2012 with $161 million in turbine tower backlog, with towers valued at $123 million to be shipped this year.

The company is joining others in the wind power industry in lobbying for an extension of the federal production tax credit.

An effort to attach the production tax credit to a federal transportation bill, led by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) failed Tuesday. The vote was 49-49, but supporters of the tax credit needed 60 votes for passage.

Broadwind said it's diversifying, winning business from its former customers in industrial markets to help it rely less on construction of new wind farms. A total of 40% of the company's 2012 orders are focused on industrial markets and contracts to service already built wind turbines.

The company's diversification of customers should allow it to "get a reasonable share of whatever the market is in 2013," Peter Duprey, president and chief executive, said during an investor conference call.

Broadwind is part of a coalition of companies that filed an unfair trade practices petition claiming wind towers made in China and Vietnam were being dumped on the U.S. market. Regulators are expected to decide in June whether to impose tariffs on imported towers, Duprey said.

"Although we can't predict the outcome of this petition, we're confident in the case," he said. "If we do prevail, we think there will be a significant reduction in the number of imported towers."

Broadwind Energy reported a loss of $20.7 million in 2011, down from a loss of $69.8 million in 2010. The 2010 loss included noncash impairment charges of $40.8 million, the company said. After the announcement, the company's shares closed at 59 cents, down 6 cents.

Grant Will Help Rockford Manufacturer Expand into Wind Turbines

More on that grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to Rockford's Bourn & Koch:

Bourne & Koch, the Rockford-based manufacturer and rebuilder of machine tools, is receiving $2.175 million from the federal stimulus package to remanufacture wind turbine gearboxes.

“We’ve been remanufacturing machines for years and we saw an opportunity to diversify,” President Tim Helle said. “There is a long-term future in this work. Just look at the Midwest. Iowa is No. 1 in the number of wind turbines, Illinois is No. 5, and more are being built all the time. These turbines will need to be maintained.”

The company, which has grown to 150 employees, will hire up to 12 people to build the machines to remanufacture the gear boxes. When a gear box fails, or fails to work efficiently, Bourn & Koch tears it apart and fixes or replaces the components, making it work like new.

Helle said the company will hire up to 10 more people to actually do the turbine gear box work when the machines are fully operational, which he estimated will be in the first quarter of 2012.

Bourn & Koch, 2500 Kishwaukee St., was one of five companies to receive funding in the second round of awards from the Green Industry Business Development Grants. The program is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is part of Illinois’ energy plan.

The grants were announced Sept. 8.

Bourn & Koch, founded in 1975, has more than 130,000 square feet of plant space. The company makes horizontal hobbing machines, gear shapers, vertical turning machines, vertical OD/ID grinding machines and rotary grinding machines. The company also remanufactures hobbers, shapers, grinders, lathes, boring and inspection machines, and VTLs.

Wind Energy Supply Chain Seminar in Morton This Week

The BlueGreen Alliance is organizing a half-day conference this week in Morton for manufacturing firms interested in expanding into the wind turbine supply chain. Illinois is a leader in the wind supply chain and this event should be a low-cost way for firms in Central Illinois to explore such opportunities further.

Who should attend? According to the event's organizers:

Manufacturers interested in exploring new market opportunities who operate a foundry, forge, machine shop or fabricating plant, or for those who operate a factory that produces power electronics, control systems, hydraulics, composites, fasteners, brakes, blades, nacelles, or supplemental equipment for the wind industry such as ladders, elevators, hoists, fire-suppression, lighting, or meteorological equipment.

Topics at the conference will include:

• New business opportunities
• Current global trends driving market demand for key components
• The wind supply chain structure and components needed including “operations & maintenance” and “construction and logistics”
• What wind OEMs look for in their suppliers
• Ways to accelerate growth in wind

Thursday September 22nd  from 7:30 AM – 12 Noon
Best Western Ashland House, Morton IL
Cost: $25
 
This workshop is presented to you by Peoria Metro, Illinois Manufacturing Extension Partnership, GLWN and BlueGreen Alliance Foundation. For more information, visit the event's page.

Rockford Company Receives Grant to Begin Remanufacturing Turbines

A gear-manufacturer in Rockford received a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity this week that will allow the firm to enter into wind turbine remanufacturing, says a story from WREX-TV in Rockford:

Bourn & Koch Inc. in Rockford gets a piece of a federal grant to help expand into the green sector.

The company is getting $2,175,000 to purchase equipment to retool its existing products for the remanufacturing of wind turbine gearboxes.

"The green industry is a growing employment sector that will be critical to Illinois' economic recovery," said Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Warren Ribley. "By helping Illinois manufacturers retrofit their businesses to incorporate green technology, we are creating jobs, strengthening our economy and helping Illinois businesses grow."

Goldwind's Shady Oaks Project to Use Broadwind Towers

Goldwind has selected Naperville-based Broadwind Energy to supply more than 70 turbine towers for the company's Shady Oaks project in Lee County, a move that will help ensure jobs at Broadwind's tower manufacturing facility in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

According to a Broadwind Press Release:

Tim Rosenzweig, chief executive officer of Goldwind USA, Inc. stated, "While proximity to the project and an ability to generate opportunity for the local wind industry certainly played a role in our decision, experience, high quality and a proven track record of success were key factors in selecting Broadwind as our tower partner for the Shady Oaks project."

With almost 800 towers produced to date, Broadwind is a leading U.S. producer of multi-megawatt wind turbine towers. The first in the U.S. to manufacture 100-meter towers, Broadwind applies existing talent to a new American challenge, tapping deep roots in steel fabrication to create the tall steel towers that enable turbines to capture maximum wind energy. Broadwind will produce the wind turbine towers for Goldwind USA's Shady Oaks project at its Manitowoc, Wisconsin facility, which employees about 275 people.

The deal gave a boost to Broadwind's stock as well, which has taken significant hits in the current economic crisis. On word of the deal, Broadwind's stock jumped 20% to $1.50, and was listed by Beacon Equity Research as one of "9 active plays shaking up Wall Street."

The selection of Broadwind is just one more example of wind energy creating well-paying jobs in the Midwest, and the Shady Oaks deal was a positive sign for Broadwind. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

The company saw record production levels for wind turbine towers in the fourth quarter, Broadwind said today. Broadwind is currently building towers for the Glacier Hills Wind Park, which is being built northeast of Madison in Columbia County by We Energies.

The Glacier Hills project will be Wisconsin’s largest wind farm. Goldwind USA is a subsidiary of Chinese-based Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd., which is a leading global manufacturer of wind turbines.

“Our partnership on this project is an ideal example of how U.S. and Chinese companies can work together to make the wind industry stronger while creating economic opportunity locally,” Peter Duprey, Broadwind president and chief executive, said in a statement.

Record tower production helped drive a 47% increase in sales during the fourth quarter for Broadwind, whose other businesses focus on wind power gears, operations and maintenance services as well as remanufacturing of gearboxes and blades. For the full year, sales and earnings fell from 2009 as wind power development slowed nationwide.

The Manitowoc factory employs about 275 people.

Shady Oaks was one of two new wind projects that will be built in Illinois this year, thanks to a power procurement the Illinois Power Agency held last December.

$15 Million in Green Manufacturing Grants Available IN ILLINOIS

The State of Illinois is administering the distribution of up to $15 million in federal grants for new, expanded or retooled manufacturing of renewable energy and energy efficiency components. The funds are being made available under the federal stimulus package, and are available NOW through the Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity (DCEO).

The solicitation for the funds is likely to be extremely competitive, and interested parties are encouraged to get their applications in order as soon as possible. Final grant applications are due April 4th, 2011. Please contact IWEA for referrals to consulting firms that can assist in securing these valuable grants.

Click here for the full DCEO Application Document.

The application provides a description of the kind of projects the state is seeking:

The Program targets projects that develop and expand these manufacturing sectors and corresponding supply chains in Illinois while improving the economy of the State through new business development and projects that contribute to meeting the goals of the Renewable Portfolio Standard and the Energy Efficiency Portfolio of the State. 

Manufacturers or producers funded through this Program will expand Illinois’ capabilities to support further development of markets for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and recycled content products in the state while promoting the conservation of energy in the State, reducing the rate of growth of energy demand in the State and/or reducing the dependence on imported oil in the State. 

Expanded supply for these markets will reduce energy usage, expand renewable energy production, divert material from municipal solid waste landfills, and reduce GHG emissions in Illinois.

Digging deeper, you come to the nitty-gritty of the application criteria:

8.2.2.1   Proposed projects from private businesses are eligible for grants up to 50 percent of eligible project cost.  Proposed projects from public and non-profit entities are eligible for grants up to 50 percent of eligible project cost.  The minimum grant award allowed is $250,000, and the maximum grant award is $5,000,000.  This is a competitive solicitation for limited grant funds. 

8.2.2.2   Applicant Investment.  The applicant must contribute a minimum of 25 percent of the total project cost, through its own contributions or funds from other financial partners.  Applicant investment cannot include funds from public incentive programs such as the State Energy Program, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, and Federal Business Energy Investment Tax Credits or other ARRA grants. 

8.2.2.3   The Director reserves the right and may elect to waive the maximum grant limitation and other Program parameters upon a finding that such waiver is appropriate to accomplish the purpose of the Program. The Director has the authority to implement pilot projects under this RFA.

8.2.3    Proposal Status.  The applicant must have selected a site, completed a feasibility assessment, identified and secured funds for project development or is in the process of securing final financial commitments.

Project Completion:  As required by ARRA, projects must be completed before February 17, 2012.

Eligible Project Activities and Costs. The following types of project activities and costs are eligible for this Program.

Proven practices:  Projects should involve machinery and equipment, and industrial systems that are advanced to the commercialization stage.  Each proposed project activity must be a recognized and proven practice and/or process.   

Eligible Costs:  Program funds may be expended only for costs directly related to the approved project.  Expenditures are allowed for the purchase and installation of machinery, equipment and new industrial systems, project necessary site improvements, technical or engineering services for process improvements in key functions, and/or the conversion of existing processes. 

Eligible Activities:  Eligible project activities will contribute to meeting the goals of the Renewable Portfolio Standard and Energy Efficiency Portfolio of the State, promote the conservation of energy in the State, reduce the rate of growth of energy demand in the State, and/or reduce the dependence on imported oil in the State.

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Business Development Projects:  Projects will focus on the development or expansion of a manufacturing facility for renewable energy and energy efficiency products or components.  Project activities will typically involve the purchase of equipment needed for manufacturing products, commissioning of facility, and operation of facility.

And remember, these funds aren't just for the renewable energy supply chain. Large manufacturer energy efficiency, biomass, recycling and other businesses and non-profits are eligible too.

Our advice: create a lot of jobs per grant-dollar and your application goes to the top of the pile.

Brad Foote Gear Works: Chicago Manufacturer Retools for Wind Industry

Crain's Chicago Business ran an excellent piece this week about Brad Foote Gear Works, looking at how the Cicero-based fabricator is now one of the leading manufacturers of wind turbine gears in the US. The feature is just more example of an old-line Chicago manufacturer that is seeing a renaissance thanks to the growth in wind energy.

The piece examines how wind component manufacturing has led to a complete revitalization and expansion for the 80-year-old company, which is now almost completely focused on wind turbine gears.

Brad Foote first entered the wind sector in 2003, but the company landed a pair of lucrative contracts in 2008 as the sole supplier of gears for GE and Clipper turbines. The new business is now the primary source of business for Brad Foote, which added an entirely new factory in 2008 and has plans to double that factory in the next few years.

The Crain's piece also includes quotes from IWEA Director Kevin Borgia (at 2:45).

Check it out!