Alstom has announced a joint venture with Andrade Gutierrez -- one of the largest infrastructure groups in Latin America -- that is dedicated to the production of steel towers for wind turbines. The joint venture (51% owned by Andrade Gutierrez and 49% by Alstom) received investment of around 30 million euros1 last year.

The plant -- Torres Eólicas do Nordeste (TEN), located in Jacobina, Bahia, 350 km from Salvador -- occupies a built-up area of 22,000 sq. meters on a 140,000 sq. meters plot, next to the main current and potential wind projects of the region. The plant took a year to build, employing around 400 people. With capacity to produce 200 metallic towers a year, the site contributes directly to the region’s economic and social growth by increasing the production chain and generating new jobs. When the plant is fully operational, it will create around 250 direct employees, in addition to 600 indirect ones.

Yves Rannou, senior vice president of the Alstom Wind business, expects Brazil to rank among the largest wind power producers in the world in a short time. To that end, he said it is "particularly gratifying for Alstom to open this new plant in Brazil and contribute to this growth."

The Jacobina unit is Alstom’s third Wind unit in Latin America. The first one was opened in 2011, in Camaçari (Bahia) to manufacture nacelles, and the second one was opened in 2013, in Canoas (Rio Grande do Sul) to manufacture towers for Brazil’s south market and neighboring countries, such as Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.