With the settlement of more than 850 wind-power manufacturers and suppliers in Tianjin, including domestic and international giants such as Vestas, Gamesa, Suzlon and Hansen, a wind-power industry cluster is emerging in Tianjin. The cluster, driven by wind-power generator manufacturing, supported by component supply and based on wind-power service, has become one of China’s most important hub for wind-power industry.
Tianjin is at present the hottest region to hub wind-power industrial cluster in China. Three out of the top 5 wind-power turbine manufacturers have set up facilities in Tianjin, and many world-famous component suppliers have also invested in Tianjin. Vestas, world’s largest wind-power equipment manufacturer headquartered in Denmark, boasts world-leading wind-power turbine R&D, manufacturing, sales and maintenance. Vestas launched its investment and operation in Tianjin in 2005. After 5 capital increases, Vestas Tianjin operation has now a total investment of US$363 million, becoming Vestas’ most important manufacturing centre in China. Other major international wind-power gear manufacturers, such as the world’s second-largest manufacturer Spain-based Gamesa and the fifth largest India-based Suzlon, as well as component suppliers from both China and abroad, including Hansen from Belgium, Reichhold from the USA, Sichuan Dongfang and Guangdong Mingyang, have also set their foot prints in Tianjin. Hansen Transmissions International NV is the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines and transmission gears, and holds a global leading position in designing and manufacturing of key components for wind-power generators and in exploitation and utilization of renewable energy. In 2008, Hansen’s 300-million-euro Tianjin operation went on stream. Reichhold, the world’s largest unsaturated polyester resins supplier for composite materials, tops the world in researching and manufacturing unsaturated polyester resins and structural adhesive for wind turbine blade. It set up its Tianjin Binhai New Area branch in 2009.
Up to now, the total number of complete appliance manufacturers and component suppliers in Tianjin has reached 50, with a total investment of 12.645 billion yuan and a total of 24,760 staff. China’s most complete wind-power industrial cluster is emerging in Tianjin. At present stage, Tianjin boasts the annual capacity to produce 5,600 MW of complete appliance, 14,000 wind turbine blades that can equip 4,900 three-blade appliances, more than 5,400 gear boxes, 1,500 engines, 3,200 control systems, 55,000 tons of resin and other materials for blade production. Tianjin has become China’s largest wind-power complete appliance manufacturing centre.
The concentration of domestic and overseas giants also stimulates the development of local component suppliers. With the successful development of YH53200 numerical control inner cylindrical gear machining, large-scale high-accuracy numerical control all-purpose vertical grinding machine, turning centre for multi-MW wind turbine spindle, and large flange hydraulic press, wind-power appliance component research and production in Tianjin has made a rapid progress. Tianjin now boasts an annual production capacity of 7,800 towers, hubs, pedestals, hydraulic pressure and cooling systems, as well as 12000KVA transformers and 10000 tons of electric cable. In the wake of the development of the wind-power industry, a supportive industry that provides a complete set of services such as wind-power plant design and counselling, assessment, construction, development, research and logistics is also taking shape in Tianjin.
