India: SEFORGE to Supply Machined Flanges for Wind Towers

SEFORGE Limited, a Suzlon Group subsidiary, announced a key purchase agreement with a leading wind turbine manufacturer for the supply of machined tower flanges, used for wind towers, over a period of three years. The Rs. 367 crore (US$ 75 mn) contract covers supply of flanges for wind turbine towers for projects in India and international markets.

Speaking on the agreement, Mr. Kamlesh Bhadani, CEO – SEFORGE, said: “This agreement underscores our ability to deliver components that meet the exacting standards of the global wind industry. “

This agreement, alongside recent agreements with other tower manufacturers and a large European bearing producer, highlight SEFORGE’s growing presence as an independent parts supplier to wind and related industries. We project that by FY13 50 per cent of our sales will be from companies outside the Suzlon Group.”

Speaking on the order, Mr. Tulsi Tanti, Chairman – Suzlon Group, said: “This is a very important order that underscores our collaborative relationship with other major wind turbine companies the world over. Wind has today achieved parity with most conventional sources of energy, beating even gas in per-unit cost in some markets; and it is projected that by 2015 wind will be truly competitive against even coalbased power. With wind contributing a mere three per cent to the world’s energy grid today, we as an industry have a enormous opportunity before us to become a central pillar of the energy mix of the future.”

SEFORGE operates a state of the art forging facility capable of producing seamless forged rings of maximum diameter of 5.2 meters, with an annual capacity of between 40,000 to 60,000 rings at Vadodara, Gujarat. SEFORGE has established itself as a key supplier to all major wind turbine manufacturers in India for the supply of forged rings used in wind turbine towers and bearings. The company also supplies rings to major international players in the oil and gas, power and defense sectors over and above the bearing and wind turbine sectors.

Three long-term agreements signed by SEFORGE in last few months together will consume approximately 40 per cent of SEFORGE’s forging capacity for the next three years.

SEFORGE also has a foundry division, based in Coimbatore, with a modern manufacturing facility capable of producing large sizes of castings with an annual capacity of 120,000 MT of castings. Large size castings are primarily supplied to wind industry, and the Foundry division also has potential to diversify into heavy engineering, aerospace and power sector equipment.

 About Suzlon Group:

The Suzlon Group is ranked as the world’s fifth largest wind turbine supplier, in terms of cumulative installed capacity, at the end of 2010. The company’s global spread extends across Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa and North and South America with over 18,000 MW of wind energy capacity installed in 28 countries, operations in 32 countries, a workforce of over 13,000. The Group offers one of the most comprehensive product portfolios – ranging from sub-megawatt on-shore turbines at 600 Kilowatts (KW), to the world’s largest commercial 6.15 MW offshore turbine – built on a vertically integrated, low-cost, manufacturing base. The Group – headquartered at Suzlon One Earth in Pune, India – comprises Suzlon Energy Limited and its subsidiaries, including REpower Systems SE.

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Offshore WIND  Staff, March 06, 2012