Irish wind-turbine maker targets €50m sales in Japan
GALWAY wind-turbine maker and contract manufacturer C&F Group has opened a subsidiary in Japan where it aims to sell €50m worth of its wind turbines by the end of next year.
The business, which employs 1,500 people around the world and has annual sales of €150m, invested €30m in R&D and spent three years developing 20-kilowatt turbines specifically for the Japanese market, where it has no competitor in that range.
Some 1,200 of its turbines of various sizes — from six to 100 kilowatts , the key parts of which are manufactured in Athenry — are now installed around the world.
In the same way as aircraft jet engines, the performance of each one is monitored 24/7 via a satellite link to a control centre there to ensure they are running correctly and to alert customers when they need maintenance.
Next month C&F’s first wind turbine one will be installed in Vermont in the US, where it also has plans to increase sales, while in Japan one is installed at the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
“This is a marvellous occasion and an important milestone in the provision and development of wind energy generation capability here on the island of Japan,” said C&F Green Energy founder, John Flaherty (inset), speaking at the opening of the firm’s new office in Tokyo.
It was attended by the Irish Ambassador to Japan Anne Barrington and Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’Connor.
“We are here to provide a clean and cost-effective wind energy solution to the people of Japan,” he said. “Our mission is to make wind energy affordable and accessible to everyone and become the global leader in small and medium-sized wind energy generation.”
”Our staff have been travelling in each direction between Galway and Japan to undertake the necessary training for this expansion, and the new Japanese division will enhance our capability in sales, field technical, design and quality support, such as electrical and mechanical expertise to ensure optimum product performance, quality control and continuous improvement,” Mr Flaherty added.