Gothenburg / Schweinfurt – The Swedish technology provider SKF is building a new manufacturing plant in Cajamar in Brazil. The rapidly growing market for wind turbines prompted the group to make this investment.
SKF is investing 24 million euros in the factory, which will create 150 jobs on 6,600 square meters. In the new factory, SKF Kaydon will produce slewing rings for Brazilian wind turbines. The rotor blades are rotated into the appropriate position against the wind via these connections.
Example of the global expansion of the BeyondZero portfolio
The new factory will begin operations in the second half of 2015. SKF Group Chairman and CEO Tom Johnstone emphasized: “Kaydon’s market leadership in renewable energy in North America, SKF’s global presence and the new factory in Brazil create optimal conditions for a strong product and service offering.” Kaydon Corporation has been part of SKF since mid-October 2013. The new plant is a great example of the purposeful global expansion of SKF’s so-called “BeyondZero portfolio”. With the solutions from this portfolio, customers can improve their environmental footprint, says Johnstone.
Plant aims to support wind energy expansion in Brazil
Brazil is forced to adapt its energy supply due to strong economic growth. The system currently relies on around 70 percent of large hydroelectric power plants and, according to the Brazilian government’s wishes, should increasingly be converted to wind turbines and other renewable energy sources. In the first half of 2014, new power plant capacities with a total volume of 4,200 MW came online. The output of the new wind turbines alone was almost 1,700 MW. Due to the constantly blowing wind in Brazil, the wind power generators achieve a very good yield. For this reason, more and more wind turbines are being installed in Brazil. SKF estimates that these generators have a total capacity of around 2,000 to 3,000 MW per year.
Further news and information on the topic:
Wind energy in Brazil: development banks sign 250 million euro contract
US can save billions with offshore wind energy
To the SKF company profile
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28.10.2014