Aarhus – Capital of Wind Energy - Aarhus.dk

Wind Industry WorkforceWind industry employees after company type, percent1040101114117%%4651ManufacturerSupplier of componentsetcetera.OtherWind industry employees after job type, percentProductionTest and developmentof new productsProcess and quality controlSales and marketingService andmaintenanceOtherFigure 3: The wind cluster of Aarhus houses the entire valuechain, from production to development, maintenance, andmarketing.also began to manufacture wind turbines in the early 1980s.Since then, these Central Denmark machine manufacturershave left a long trail of local technological knowhowand wind business tradition that now attracts majorinternational manufacturers to the Aarhus area by thenumbers.In 1997, Nordtank Energy Group and Micon mergedto form NEG Micron and become a global player. Witharound 10,000 wind turbines in 38 countries it claimed 20percent of the installed wind power in the world. In 2004,Vestas and NEG Micron merged to become the world’slargest wind turbine manufacturer.The same year, Bonus was bought by German industrialgiant Siemens. Vestas and Siemens Windpower consolidatedthemselves with headquarters in Randers andBrande respectively, while Vestas maintained part of itsmanufacturing activities in West Jutland.Over the years, this significant presence of leadingglobal manufacturers has given rise to a strong networkof suppliers which, today, encompasses the entire supplychain in terms of development, production, and sale ofwind turbines. In turn, the 80 or so companies who havesettled here in the wake of the manufacturers’ rapid expansionhave evolved into a powerful wind energy clusterin the Central Denmark belt. See page 30.tors and major environmental and energy-tech companiesin the area – like the world’s largest pump manufacturer,Grundfos, to name one.According to the Danish Wind Industry Association,there are significant cross-sector synergies between thewind cluster and these other supply chains.One significant effect is that the skill and educationlevels are higher than in the rest of Denmark. An analysisfrom eStatistic shows that the Central Denmark region hasa greater share of employees with higher education in thesefields than Copenhagen, the Danish capital, whose generallevel of education is considerably higher in practically anyother area. If you look specifically at the Greater Aarhusarea, where the wind cluster has its centre, the trend is evenmore distinct.Almost 60 percent of the wind industry employees witha university education work in the Greater Aarhus area. InAarhus, more than 25 percent have a higher education. Inthe rest of Denmark, the ratio is one to six. See figure 4.The Greater Aarhus area has by far the greatest proportionof decision-makers in the wind industry. Almost 60percent of all top executives, and more than half of otherhigh-ranking employees, work in the Greater Aarhus areawind cluster. See figure 5.Aarhus is High-EndWind industry employees after socio-economic status,percentGreater Rest ofAarhus DenmarkAll employees 100 100Top executives 7 3High-skill employees 13 6Medium-skilled employees 22 10Other 58 81Greater Aarhus’ share of Danish wind industryemployment, percentGreater AarhusAll employees 35Top executives 57High-skill employees 53Medium-skilled employees 55Other 28Figur 5: The Aarhus wind cluster has a higher percentage ofhigh-skilled employees than the rest of the country.Source: E-statistik.Source: Danish Wind Industry Association.10 percent work in sales and marketing of the manufacturingand service departments of the industry, while almost20 percent work in consultancy, management, and maintenance.See figure 3.Strong SynergiesThe wind cluster has benefited greatly from the strong professionaland industrial environment in the region withinenergy and environmental technology. Many of the windindustry suppliers are also suppliers to other energy sec-Historic Power of cooperationThe Central Denmark wind cluster dates back to the 1970s,and many companies, both manufacturers and suppliers,are united by strong historic bonds.The Danish industrial wind energy adventure beganon the West Jutland heath in the end of the 70s when studentsand teachers at the so-called Tvind schools in Ulfborgand Ringkøbing decided to build the world’s largest windturbine. The Tvind Mill was developed and built between1975-78 and in many ways accelerated Danish wind energyresearch. At the same time, it inspired local machine manufacturersto initiate the development and manufacturing ofwind turbines.Most notably: Vestas – today the world´s largest windturbine manufacturer. The company was originally calledVestjysk Stålteknik and, until the end of the 1970s, producedfarm vehicles from its address in Lem. Inspired bythe political and market interest in the Tvind project, andfurther urged by a decline in the farming industry, Vestasswitched to wind turbines and, late in 1979, put its firstwind turbine on the market. (See article page 27).The company Danregn, in Brande, between Ringkøbingand Aarhus, had the same idea. Danregn originally suppliedirrigation systems for agricultural use but in 1980 beganto manufacture the so-called Bonus wind turbine. Nordtankon the Djursland peninsula and Micon in RandersAarhus Has the SkillsLevel of education in the wind industry, percentGreater Rest ofAarhus DenmarkAll employees 100 100University 10 4Short-/medium-cycle higher education 18 10Vocational education & training 45 44High school 5 4Primary/N.A. 22 37Greater Aarhus share of the Danish wind industryemployment,Greater AarhusAll employees 35University 57Short-/medium-cycle higher education 49Vocational education & training 35High school 39Primary/N.A. 24Figure 4: The level of education among wind industryemployees is higher in the Greater Aarhus area than in therest of Denmark.Source: E-statistik.22 Mondaymorning Aarhus – Capital of Wind Energy 23