Vestas The End

[sooze]

Hoots
I was merely pointing out that there was possible business locally for Vestas in the future. If the wind farm goes ahead then turbines will need to be brought in to Kintyre rather than moving a few miles down the road.

Sooze

[Admin3]

And hoots shouldn't be using this account for the purpose of making comment.

[Mack]

I can't help thinking - when will we start to use joined up policy? Campbeltown is totally dependant on the sea - not the long road to Glasgow and the central belt. Vestas was promised a ferry link to Ireland and the rest of its close business interests, something we are still debating. The decision to close the factory is disgraceful, especially since the British Government has just given its biggest support yet to renewable energy. However, how much blame can we place at the door of procrastination? Once more the politicians are queuing up to cry foul , when they know it is the whole political system that has let us down! They have dragged their feet on the issue of an Irish ferry - one big enough to be of use to industrial customers. A decision on this issue is imminent -- too late boys the bird has flown!

[Windy Miller]

I was merely pointing out that there was possible business locally for Vestas in the future. If the wind farm goes ahead then turbines will need to be brought in to Kintyre rather than moving a few miles down the road.

There's another windfarm going up near to Inverary. They could have made the things here and floated them all the way there.

[Jock Strap]

I was merely pointing out that there was possible business locally for Vestas in the future. If the wind farm goes ahead then turbines will need to be brought in to Kintyre rather than moving a few miles down the road.

There's another windfarm going up near to Inverary. They could have made the things here and floated them all the way there.

VESTAS couldn't win the contract for the second phase of Tangy so what makes you think they could win it for Inveraray? It appears that one of their fundamental problems is not winning contracts in Britain - Siemens undercut them all the time and win the majority of contracts. Perhaps they need to look further up the ladder and ask why they are not winning these contracts? They've a highly skilled workforce at Machrihanish and that should be recognised.

Good to see the proposed Southend project would have been made locally but that is't enough reason to allow planning permission - the proposals at Southend have quite an impact on the village and surprised this is supported by villagers.

Extremely sad news and the impact on Kintyre is massive - it is like taking the size of Stirling and saying 1000 jobs will be lost. The difference here is we live in one of the remotest parts of mainland Scotland so finding another job and commuting to work isn't an option. I really do hope they find some alternative.

[deirdreh]

Would a workforce / management buyout be an option?

I also wondered about this? Could the Scottish Government not take the brave and forward thinking step of puchasing the site and setting up a Government owned renewable energy factory with research and development facilities so that the skilled workers could retain their jobs long term and new skilled workers would come to the area. Turbines could be built for community benefit on Government owned land. A new line could be developed for domestic use which is a huge market. We would no longer need to be held to ransom by huge private energy corporations who hold no loyalty to anything but the dollar, and work our way towards slowing or solving our energy needs without nuclear. Are they brave enough????? Is Scotland the Brave? (couldn't resist it!)

I also wondered if Vesta are just looking for another huge injection of tax payers money as they have given the workforce a few months termination notice. It seems that often these factories that close just shut the door and put up a sign - e.g. the Call Centre. Are Vesta just looking for us to subsidise their profits again?

[WTC]

Would a workforce / management buyout be an option?

I also wondered about this? Could the Scottish Government not take the brave and forward thinking step of puchasing the site and setting up a Government owned renewable energy factory with research and development facilities so that the skilled workers could retain their jobs long term and new skilled workers would come to the area. Turbines could be built for community benefit on Government owned land. A new line could be developed for domestic use which is a huge market. We would no longer need to be held to ransom by huge private energy corporations who hold no loyalty to anything but the dollar, and work our way towards slowing or solving our energy needs without nuclear. Are they brave enough????? Is Scotland the Brave? (couldn't resist it!)

The Government can’t even manage the country

[4th gen Suthen']

"VESTAS, the world’s No1 wind turbine maker, said yesterday it is struggling to keep up with demand due to the surge of interest in renewable energy.

It has a £5.8billion backlog of orders. The Danish firm’s shares rose seven per cent on the Copenhagen stock market. "

Spotted that on the 'net today.

It just does not make sense

[EMDEE]

From today's Press and Journal:

Kintyre in shock as 90 jobs go at factory

Campbeltown deprived before vestas blow

Published: 16/08/2008
One of Argyll’s most deprived towns has been dealt a severe blow with the announcement that a wind turbine factory is to close with the loss of 92 jobs.
Vestas at Machrihanish, near Campbeltown, has been producing towers since 2002 but the company says the products for which the factory was designed no longer generate satisfactory earnings.
Knud Bjarne Hansen, president of Vestas Towers, said the company would start a consultation about the closure and then “slowly cease all manufacturing”.
Unemployment rates in Campbeltown, at 2.4%, are already higher than the Highlands and Islands average of 1.8%.
The leader of Argyll and Bute Council yesterday said he was “saddened” by the news.
Councillor Dick Walsh said: “This factory has supplied many people with employment opportunities since it opened but today’s announcement will have a devastating impact on the whole community.
“Employment in Kintyre has already seen a dip following the closure of Campbeltown Ship Yard and, more recently, the Jaeger factory. My thoughts are with those who are directly affected by the closure and their families.
“In spite of this body-blow to the Kintyre economy we are continuing to look at projects which may help to regenerate this fragile community."
Jamie McGrigor, MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said: “This is a hammer blow to the local economy of Campbeltown and Kintyre and indeed Argyll more generally.
“Vestas has underpinned the local economy to a considerable degree in recent years and these job losses will be felt very hard in the community. Local people will be surprised that Vestas is pulling out of Scotland when the Scottish Government is seeking to push ahead with the development of numerous windfarms – it is indeed highly ironic when windfarm construction is such a growth industry and Vestas appears to have good order books.”
Alan Reid, MP for Argyll and Bute, went to Campbeltown yesterday to speak to the workers. He said: “The closure of Vestas is devastating news for Campbeltown. The Scottish Government must step in and keep the factory open. If the closure goes ahead, the effects on the Kintyre economy will be devastating. The workers are in a state of shock The company president says it is a very good workforce so I am going to write to the remaining companies and ask if any of them are interested in taking Vestas over.”
Highlands and Islands MSP Peter Peacock said: “The government need to demonstrate their commitment to this plant by pulling out all the stops to save it and to let it share in an expanding European market for wind turbines."

[Kintyre Forum News]

Interesting comments on the Herald website along with the news story.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/di ... s_lost.php

Interesting to read Vestas are opening a new factory on the Isle of Wight too....

http://www.themanufacturer.com/uk/conte ... e_of_Wight

[in command]

http://www.vestas.com/files//Filer/EN/P ... lities.pdf

[in command]

http://www.vestas.com/files//Filer/EN/P ... lities.pdf


http://www.vestas.com/files//Filer/EN/I ... KUK-40.pdf


Make up your own mind.

[bakbjerg]

Installed Vestas Wind Mills as by July 31st 2008: [url]http://www.vestas.com/en/about-vestas/results/results-–-country-by-country.aspx[/url]

Examples of numbers of installed Vestas-mills by country:
USA 9,641
Germany 5,476
Denmark 4,871
India 3,917
Spain 2,040
Italy 1,722
......
England 321
Scotland 301
......
United Arabian Emirates 1

[Boaby]

ach come on we all knew they'd R U N O F T when the grant money stopped
but not until they'd reeled us in and spat us out, put a few birds on the endangered list, ruined our scenery and churned up the roads
who's next I wonder...

[bakbjerg]

ach come on we all knew they'd R U N O F T when the grant money stopped
but not until they'd reeled us in and spat us out, put a few birds on the endangered list, ruined our scenery and churned up the roads
who's next I wonder...

Hmm, I would have thought that the production would move to where the market is, especially in a world with fast ricing costs of transport.

As a Dane living here, I'm not very proud of Vestas today, but I guess they have to optimise whereever they can just like any other company in a very competitive market. Within one year Vestas has seen 35 new competitors come to live in China alone