Vestas RRB sets up controllers plant in Chennai

Vestas RRB India Limited, manufacturers of wind electric generators, plans to export its products to Sri Lanka by the end the current fiscal.

Addressing mediapersons at the inauguration of its controllers plant in Chennai, Rakesh Bakshi, managing director of Vestas RRB India, said that the company has been receiving a lot of enquiries from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to set up turnkey projects there. The company has only been catering to the domestic demand so far.

Bakshi said that the setting up of a controllers plant on its own has made the indigenous component in the wind turbine increase to 75 per cent. The production capacity of the plant is about 200 MW which is expected to go up to 400 MW next year.

The technology is being transferred by its Danish partner Vestas Wind System.

"The current capacity of the controllers plant is 200 MW. We plan to have three shifts a day next year for optimum utilisation of the plant," he said

The level of local components is expected to increase further with the indigenisation of blades for which the company will be setting up its plants in 18 acres of land in Ponnamallee.

The investments in these two plants is about Rs 35 crore and the major investment will be diverted to the blade plant.

Bakshi pointed out that the prices of controllers can only be optimised as a result of rising of steel price even though there was cost reduction due to indigenisation.

Vestas RRB expects to achieve a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore during the current financial year. The company is likely to close 2004-05 with a turnover of Rs 550 crore as compared to Rs 260 crore in 2003-04.