Although it started as a blacksmith shop, the Danish company of Vestas is now the world’s leading producer of wind turbines. In 2004, Vestas merged with NEG Micon, Denmark’s second-largest wind turbine maker, to form the world’s largest wind turbine company with more than 32% of the global market.
In 1989, China’s Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co bought 13 150-kilowatt wind turbines from Denmark. It has since grown into one of the largest wind turbine producers in the world, accounting for 7.2% of the world market.
Vestas opened business in China in 2006 and there are currently six production facilities on the mainland. In its 2009 annual report, it hailed China’s great potential in wind power development.
Vestas has increased its investment in China to over RMB3 billion (US$449 million), while China became Vestas’ second largest market worldwide.
Copenhagen Post Online reports that in China alone, Vestas currently employs more than 2,000 people.