Eleon bought a wind turbine blade factory from Finland
After year and a half of negotiations, Eleon has bought a Finnish wind turbine blade factory named Mervento, including all technology and fittings. The Finnish company itself only made it to the production of the first prototype. According to Oleg Sõnajalg, it was the closest factory to Eleon, and therefore a profitable purchase. Oleg and Andres Sõnajalg, founders of Eleon Ltd. are operating in order to launch recently purchased wind turbine blade factory at latest by the end of the year.
“We have had a long-term partnership with Finnish people, unfortunately their factory went bankrupt,” explained Andres Sõnajalg. “Their devices are suitable for our wind turbine blade production. By the autumn, we will move the equipment of the factory to Estonia. “The greatest phenomenon of bringing the wind turbine blade factory to Estonia is that, firstly, it is very labor intensive – it is handmade everywhere in the world,” described Andres Sõnajalg, co-founder of domestic windmill development company.
According to him, in this area there are already qualified people in Estonia. “All the luxury yachts are made from the same materials,” he explained. As a second important aspect, Sõnajalg brought out the transport costs, as bringing wind turbine blades from abroad should be considered with at least a 20-percent additional cost. “Not very large factories are established for the blades, but they are located next to the wind parks, to the point that removable factories will be created,” describes entrepreneur.
A technology company that operated aside the enterprise will help to put up the factory. This should take place in fall, as at the end of September Eleon Ltd. should bring the equipment of Mervento factory from Finland to Estonia.
“These type of factories will be built very quickly,” said Sõnajalg, pointing out that in a few months the factory would be up. The total territory would is estimated to be between two to three hectares. “With this equipment, in two shifts, it is possible to manufacture one blade per week, 52 blades or 17 sets of blades per year,” said Sõnajalg. As planning and calculations are still ongoing, he could not say the exact numbers of the workers yet, however depending on the volume of production, he predicts work places for a few fundred people.
By today, Oleg and Andres Sõnajalg have the signed all the necessary contracts for the construction of Aidu wind farm with total price of 165 millions. 70 percent of Eleon’s wind turbine components come from Estonian companies. These include ABB in Jüri, E-Profiil aside Tallinn, Remeks in Ida-Virumaa as well as many other smaller enterprises.
