By: Deborah Johnson Wood
An official at Holland-based Genzink Steel says the company hopes to begin producing several hundred generator frames for a wind turbine company from Spain. That means that ten existing contract welding jobs could become permanent, and another ten could be added over the next year.
COO John Maxson declined to disclose details, but he said a pending contract for 250 to 400 generator frames is on the table, with the possibility of doubling that number in 2009. The frames will stand 200 to 300 feet high, and will support giant commercial-sized generators for the wind turbines.
"We'll do the fabrication, machining, painting, and ship them to the client," Maxson says. "They'll complete the assembly and ship them to the end user."
Maxson sat down with Governor Jennifer M. Granholm when she was in West Michigan last month to discuss alternative energy. The Governor asked what the manufacturers are seeing and hearing about alternative energy manufacturing possibilities, and what their needs are to procure the business.
"We need continuing training for skilled fabricators," Maxson says. "We're trying to bring in highly skilled college degreed workers, but we can't forget the industrial jobs that keep the business going. Sometimes we miss training the folks who are not college bound, showing them how they can make a good living in a skilled trade."
Genzink currently employs 269 workers at its Holland and Sanford, Michigan plants. The company has been in business 40 years, and this year logged $40 million in revenues.
Source: John Maxson, Genzink Steel
Deborah Johnson Wood is development news editor for Rapid Growth Media. She can be contacted at [email protected].
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