CS Wind eyes $2.2 bn sales in 2024 with Bladt

CS Wind Corp., a South Korean wind turbine tower manufacturer, expects its sales next year to double from last year’s to reach about 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) in anticipation of the strong growth of the global offshore wind power market.

“We expect about 800 billion won in sales from Bladt next year,” CS Wind’s Chief Executive Officer Gim Seong-gon said during his interview with The Korea Economic Daily last Thursday. “If our tower sales top 2 trillion won (as expected), we will be able to earn 3 trillion won in sales next year.”

Seoul-headquartered CS Wind, the world’s No. 1 wind turbine tower manufacturer, acquired a full stake in Bladt Industries A/S, an offshore wind turbine tower’s substructure manufacturer based in Aalborg, Denmark, for 26.9 billion won in July.

The Korean owner posted 46.7 billion won in operating profit in 2022 with its record high sales of 1.37 trillion won, according to the company’s regulatory filing.

It is projected to report better earnings this year after already reaping 66.3 billion won in operating profit on sales of 765.9 billion won in the first half of this year.

“Considering that the global offshore wind power market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 30%, our new production facility due to be completed in February next year would not be enough to meet demand,” said Gim. “We are seeking to invest more to secure new land (for manufacturing facilities).”

CS Wind currently produces wind turbine towers in seven countries, including the US and Vietnam. It is now expanding its manufacturing facility in Portugal to cope with growing demand in Europe and North America.

ACCELERATION IN GLOBAL EXPANSION

With Bladt under its wings, the Korean wind turbine tower manufacturer is expected to cement its leading position in the global wind power market.  

A typical wind power generator consists of four parts – blades, wind turbine, tower and substructure.

The 40-year-old Danish company focuses on offshore wind power with a specialty in the production of large and complex steel structures, including foundations and substations.  

Since its takeover, the new Korean owner has dispatched Korean welding experts to Denmark to address quality issues with Bladt’s substructures, which had delayed the Danish subsidiary’s delivery of orders to multinational energy giant Orsted A/S, said Gim.

CS Wind has skilled welding engineers and experts from the world’s largest shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and runner-up Samsung Heavy Industries Co., according to the CEO.

“The offshore wind power structure must be very strong and sturdy because it has to withstand sea water for 20 to 30 years,” said Gim, adding that that is one of the reasons the company has invested heavily in welding technology.

“Bladt will pave the way for another leap for CS Wind,” said Gim.

Founded in 1989 as a steel structure producer, the company changed its name to CS Wind in 2006 with a focus on wind turbine towers.

Over the past decades, the company has provided more than 13,000 towers to major global projects, and global wind power players, including Vestas, Siemens-Gamesa, GE and Goldwind, are among its clients.

In June 2021, it took over a 100% stake in Vestas’ wind tower factory in the US, the world’s largest tower manufacturing facility at that time.

A month later, CS Wind agreed to buy a 60% stake in Portugal’s largest wind tower manufacturer ASM Industries.

Write to Hyung-Chang Choi at calling@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.