The prospects for cooperation with the so-called “Tier 1” were discussed during the International Supplier Day organized by the Wind Industry Hub at the PWEA Conference in Swinoujscie on June 6, 2024. Representatives of four leading wind industry contractors in Europe – Vestas, Smulders Projects, CS WIND Offshore and Windar Renovables – shared their plans and potential demand for Polish sub-suppliers.
Vestas held a dedicated one-hour workshop for this purpose. The meeting was chaired by Pawel Zdziennicki, Head of Indirect Procurement, NCE region, and Jakub Kaczorowski, CAPEX & Special Tools Purchaser, NCE region, who presented opportunities for starting cooperation with regional suppliers. As they pointed out, last year the Danish company spent €111 million on transactions with Polish service providers and suppliers, and now they are planning to spend more than twice that amount, i.e. €246 million. This will certainly be facilitated by the wind giant’s investments in the country on the Vistula River (or more precisely: the Oder River) – Vestas plans to start manufacturing wind turbine nacelles in Szczecin in the first quarter of 2025, and has purchased land for a blade factory.
The Danish company’s staff outlined its expectations from suppliers, which are production safety, quality, on-time delivery, sustainability (zero waste policy, climate neutrality) and price competitiveness. Vestas plans to have the most competent local contractors supply wind turbine components, as well as specialized tools, production line components and equipment for transporting wind farm components. The speakers invited entrepreneurs willing to establish cooperation to contact them through the Supplier Enquiry Form at: https://www.vestas.com/en/about/our-partners/Suppliers.
The next three presentations were discussed during the “Tier 1 Purchasing Plans” session. The first was presented by Jacek Kowalczyk, Business development manager, Smulders Projects Poland Sp. z o.o.. The audience was able to learn about the activities of the company, which is a supplier of, among other things, steel structures, foundations (Transition Pieces, Jackets and Floating foundations) and transformer stations for offshore wind power. The range of completed investments extends to both European countries (Great Britain, Denmark, Belgium, Germany) and Asian countries (Japan and Taiwan). In Poland, on the other hand, the company is present through plants in Żary, Niemodlin and Łęknica, where production of secondary structures is carried out. The speaker emphasized that Smulders cooperates with various Polish subcontractors in a number of projects. This cooperation includes support in the implementation of series production and requires compliance with strict quality and health and safety requirements in the offshore wind energy sector.
Smulders’ representative encouraged domestic subcontractors to participate in the company’s supply chain. He further singled out the possibility of cooperation in the development of turbine foundations (opportunities are being courted in steel structure work, galvanizing and inspection services, and further prospects are possible in the supply of components such as electrical parts, anodes and Davi cranes). In addition, Smulders is open to working with offshore sites to fabricate and install transformer stations or foundations for them. At the same time, expectations for potential subcontractors have been outlined, which include coping with stringent contractual requirements, high product reliability, extensive quality and documentation requirements, readiness to support offshore work when needed, certifications: ISO and VCA (SSC), and cooperation to improve the product and reduce costs. In addition, Smulders secures deliveries to shipyards in Hoboken (Belgium), Newcastle (UK) or Vlissingen (Netherlands), and due to the nature of just-in-time production, the ability to deliver at a production rate of three foundations per week is expected. The speaker can be contacted via email: jacek.kowalczyk.ext@smulders.com.
Another talk was given by Thorbjørn Lindmark, VP Sales, CS WIND Offshore (formerly: Bladt Industries). This company is involved in the Baltic Power investment, which is a joint project between ORLEN Group and Northland Power. The investors awarded CS WIND Offshore and Semco Maritime an EPCI contract for two substations in the Baltic Sea. Importantly, the monopiles and substation components are also to be supplied by the Danish-origin company. The company stresses that it does not intend to rest on this investment alone and plans to expand its operations in Poland, which it calls its “second home,” in the near future.
A representative of CS WIND Offshore invited anyone interested in cooperation to make direct contact by email: mk@cswoffshore.com or tli@cswoffshore.com. CEO Thorbjørn Lindmark noted:
“Despite the competitive landscape we navigate, the willingness is there to engage in open dialogue about the challenges we collectively face. While competition drives us to excel, we are united by a common goal to support the energy transition offshore for the benefit of future generations“.
The final presentation during the session was by Jesús Soriano, Procurement specialist, Windar Renovables. The Spanish company in recent months leased a 19-hectare site in the Szczecin port area, where it intends to launch a factory with a production capacity of up to 100 towers per year in 2026. In the presentation, a representative of Windar Renovables clearly signaled the demand for a local supply chain. The Spanish company expressed interest in the following areas: services (NDTs, painting inspection, transportation, cleaning, supervision), machine rental (platforms, forklifts, SMPT), painting (spare parts and consumables, solvents), welding supplies (local supplier of welding wire, welding gases, spare parts for welding machines), other supplies (blasting machines, welding machines, milling machines), maintenance (local machine maintenance), protective clothing (PPE – helmets, goggles, footwear), local workshops (cutting, beveling, machining, light welding), IT supplies, stationary office maintenance, and other tools and machinery (GMAW welding machines, grinders, power tools).
During the presentation, the speaker signaled that most manufacturers usually talk about Tier 1 and Tier 2 components, but much more is needed to create a functional workplace.
“In the presentation I included the most important needs that our factory will have. The goal is to connect with companies that can help us meet these needs so that we can establish relationships before the factory begins production.”
The audience was further encouraged to make email contact with representatives of the Spanish company: mmazorra@windar-renovables.com and jsoriano@windar-renovables.com.
Presentations by Vestas, Smulders Projects, CS WIND Offshore and Windar Renovables were the first open workshops by these entities on the wind supply chain. The goal of the Wind Industry Hub is to build a platform for cooperation between market participants, especially procurers and manufacturing, service and consulting companies – that is, contractors. We would like to thank all the speakers, as well as the participants, and we encourage companies in the wind power supply chain in Poland to register for the Wind Industry Hub free of charge in order to benefit from similar events on a regular basis.