CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Gestamp Renewables and the Worthington Energy Group, a subsidiary of Worthington Industries, Inc., announced today that they will build a wind tower manufacturing facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming, under a joint venture, Gestamp Worthington Wind Steel, LLC.
The 160,000-square-foot manufacturing facility will be established on 30 acres of land in the Cheyenne Logistics Hub at Swan Ranch. The company anticipates hiring 150 local employees and investing nearly $40 million on construction of the facility, land improvements and equipment.
Gestamp Worthington considered several states for the location of its North American tower manufacturing facility. The Wyoming Business Council worked with local Wyoming economic development organizations to help the company evaluate various locations in Wyoming. Once the company made the decision to choose Cheyenne, the Business Council worked closely with Cheyenne LEADS to help facilitate the company’s ultimate location in Cheyenne.
“I want to express my gratitude to the Business Council and Cheyenne LEADS for their work. I am also glad to welcome Gestamp Worthington to Wyoming,” Governor Matt Mead said. “We are certainly pleased to see this added level of economic benefit from the use of our nationally recognized wind resource.”
The company plans to manufacture more than 300 wind towers per year to be used primarily in wind farms within the state of Wyoming. The tower sections will be used with 2 to 3 MW turbines. The company selected Wyoming because of its pro-business climate and strong fiscal standing.
“We looked at several locations and considered all of the aspects of logistics, business costs, workforce and regional market projections. Wyoming was at the top of the list,” said Ralph Roberts, President of the Worthington Global Group. “In addition, we saw in Wyoming what we considered to be a very good alignment with our company’s strong work ethic, culture and philosophy, grounded in the Golden Rule. Gestamp Worthington and Wyoming will be a very good fit for each other.”
“We’re very pleased that Gestamp Renewables and the Worthington Energy Group have decided to locate this facility here and bring these new jobs to the region,” Bob Jensen, the CEO of the Business Council said. “This adds to Wyoming’s reputation for having the right business climate and transportation infrastructure for this type of manufacturing.”
Randy Bruns, CEO of Cheyenne LEADS said Cheyenne continues to be a smart choice for expanding businesses. “We are pleased to have two companies with the stature of Gestamp Worthington bringing 150 good jobs to our community. This illustrates, once again, the value of having available property and a business climate that can meet the needs of industry. Kudos to the Wyoming Business Council for the good work they have done on this project.”
Construction is scheduled to be started this spring, and the joint venture anticipates beginning shipments of 80-100 foot long tower sections for wind turbines in the first quarter of calendar year 2012.