Nordex Group and the US blade manufacturer TPI Composites have agreed a strategic partnership that will see the former transfer the operation of its Mexican blade plant in Matamoros to the latter for a period of three years starting this month.
The partners aim to further increase the efficiency and output of blade production, which mainly serves the American markets.
TPI will take over the facility, which currently produces two different blade types, and start blade production exclusively for Nordex.
The agreement also includes the details of the facility returning to Nordex in 2024, but also includes an extension option depending on mutual agreement.
TPI will also take over the approximately 1500 employees of Nordex at the facility in Matamoros.
Nordex said the transaction marks another milestone of the group’s growth path by “further strengthening its global production footprint and increasing the flexibility of its key component supply chain”.
Nordex chief executive Jose Luis Blanco said: “We are very pleased to have TPI, the leading global manufacturer of rotor blades with a strong foothold in Mexico, as our strategic partner.
“This partnership allows us to safeguard our profitable growth in the coming years and to capture further market opportunities by securing fast deliveries and high delivery reliability for our US customers in particular.
“This enables us to focus our resources on our other worldwide strategic ramp-up activities.”
TPI president and chief executive Bill Siwek said: “We are pleased that the Nordex Group has chosen to expand the relationship with TPI by trusting us with their blade production in Mexico. It has been a strong global relationship since 2013.”
Nordex and TPI have been working together for many years.
Since 2013, Nordex has been purchasing its blades from TPI in Turkey, in China since 2020, and in India in 2021.