GE Renewable Energy announced plans to recruit more than 200 employees at its LM Wind Power wind-turbine blade manufacturing site in Cherbourg, France. So far, 60 out of the 200 employees have been recruited and just began intensive training at the factory’s Center of Excellence.
A total of 120 employees worked at the LM Wind Turbine blade factory in Cherbourg in 2018, and that number will reach more than 320 employees by the end of 2019.
Opened in April 2018, the Cherbourg facility became the first wind turbine blade manufacturing site in France. A year later, the site counted 120 employees, 34% of whom are women.
“This project creates enthusiasm as the factory is ramping-up, and we have witnessed a significant combination of efforts as we use the expertise from our facilities worldwide to train the people in Cherbourg” says Lukasz Cejrowski, LM 107.0 P project manager, “The teams are excited to have produced the first blade in the world longer than 100 meters. We are welcoming new people with diverse backgrounds, and at the same time, we are building a new blade of a size we have never achieved before.”
Prototyping and production of the five 107-meter blades began in January 2019, the largest in the world, which are set to be installed on GE’s Haliade-X 120MW offshore wind turbine. The expanded production workforce will let LM Wind Power prepare the blades commercial production phase.
GE says it’s seeking a production workforce, with positions open to all profiles and backgrounds. Every new employee will be trained to manufacture wind-turbine blades through LM Wind Power’s Center of Excellence training program. In addition, each new employee will receive a six-week theoretical and practical training course, which will provide skilled and technical expertise, and improve the quality of products.
Newcomers will also be mentored by experts from the company’s sites worldwide. GE is looking for site production supervisors, quality controllers, logistic and maintenance technicians, as well as apprentices’ positions.
Filed Under: Blades, News
