Siemens Announces Plans for New, State-of-the-Art Wind Service Training Center in U.S.
With its commitment to providing the best and most comprehensive skills
and safety training to its service technicians and engineers worldwide,
Siemens is making plans to build a new, state-of-the-art wind service
training facility in Orlando, Florida, USA. The demand for skilled wind
service technicians is increasing as more wind projects come online in
the Americas, thereby requiring long-term service and maintenance.
Siemens is designing this new 40,000-square-foot center, which will be
located close to the global headquarters of Siemens’ Energy Service
division in Orlando, to be among the most advanced wind training
facilities in the world. Siemens’ initial investment will be
approximately $7 million and the company plans to create 50 new
full-time jobs and host approximately 2,400 trainees annually from the
U.S. and the Americas. The training center, which is being built based
on LEED Gold green-building standards, is scheduled to begin operations
by this summer.
“As wind energy has become a mainstream source of power generation, the
continued reliable and competitive performance of renewable energy is
critically important to meeting the nation’s future energy demand,” said
Randy Zwirn, CEO of Siemens Energy, Inc. and CEO of Siemens Energy’s
global Service Division. “As an industry leader in both onshore and
offshore wind, Siemens is poised to meet that demand and this new,
advanced training facility in the U.S. will help ensure that our wind
service technicians receive the highest standard of technical and safety
training. In addition, the training center’s proximity to Siemens
Energy’s Americas headquarters will allow us to leverage synergies and
provide cross-functional support within our Service and Wind Divisions.
Orlando has been home to Siemens Energy for more than 30 years and our
employees are vested in the community. We look forward to bringing this
new state-of-the-art training facility to the Central Florida region
later this year.”
“We are pleased that Florida remains a solid business base for Siemens
as indicated by its choice of our state over other U.S. states for this
innovative, high-tech training center,” said Florida Governor Rick
Scott. “This project shows that Florida’s workforce and business climate
are making us more competitive for jobs and opportunities that will
benefit the families and professionals who call this state home.”
The Orlando wind training center will be one of four Siemens wind
service training facilities globally, joining Brande, Denmark; Bremen,
Germany; and Newcastle in the United Kingdom. The training center will
provide technical and health and safety training for Siemens’ wind power
service technicians, equipping them with the skills required to safely
and expertly meet the service needs of the industry. It will offer a
wide variety of qualification and training options covering all aspects
relating to the technology and operational reliability – an important
contribution toward the efficient, reliable operation of wind turbines
over the long-term.
“Siemens has a strong presence in Orlando and Central Florida with
offices and facilities supporting its energy, healthcare and industry
sectors,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “The region offers convenient
access to transportation and the new training facility will be located
in close proximity of one of the world’s leading international airports,
Orlando International Airport. The project is anticipated to have a
favorable economic impact on the region, with estimates of up to 7,200
hotel room nights occupied by up to 2,400 visiting technicians and other
personnel annually, along with spending on meals and rental cars,”
continued Dyer.
The central feature of the new training center will be two full-size
Siemens nacelles upon which wind service technicians will be trained to
perform maintenance based on Siemens specifications. In addition, two
32-foot high climbing towers, ladder structures, electrical and
hydraulic modules, and a maintenance crane will make training, safety
and rescue simulations possible under realistic conditions. The Orlando
location will also be designed to accommodate large classroom sizes.
In the past two years, Siemens global wind service business has grown
from approximately 1,600 employees to well over 2,400 today and those
numbers are expected to grow as more and more regions increase their
commitment to building renewable energy resources to support the growing
demand for clean energy around the globe.
The Siemens Energy Sector is the world’s leading supplier of a
broad spectrum of products, services and solutions for power generation
in thermal power plants and using renewables, power transmission in
grids and for the extraction, processing and transport of oil and gas.
In fiscal 2012 (ended September 30), the Energy Sector had revenues of
EUR27.5 billion and received new orders totaling approximately EUR26.9
billion and posted a profit of EUR2.2 billion. On September 30, 2012,
the Energy Sector had a work force of almost 86,000. Further information
is available at: www.siemens.com/energy.