Haywards' Wind Farm Expansion

The Examiner, Page: 20
Tuesday, 11 April 2006

Tasmanian company Haywards has completed a $3.5 million extension to its Breadalbane workshops to enable the manufacture of wind towers for the North West Coast and service company expansion into mainland markets. Managing director Steve Edmunds said Haywards would build 25 towers for Vestas Australian Wind Technologies as part of a $10 million project for the Roaring 40s wind farm at Studland Bay. The wind towers, weighing nearly 200 tonnes each and standing 80m tall, will be the largest fabricated in Australia.

The company has already constructed towers for the Woolnorth wind farm, as well as towers and foundation sections for wind farms in South Australia, Western Australia and King Island. Mr Edmunds said theextensions provided the company with an additional 3500sq. m of workshop area, bringing the total factory area to 8000sq. m and enhanced its ability to assist its clients with major expansion.

"The extensions enhance our ability to service our clients' requirements, and together with our continuous improvement in skills, technology, safety standards and capacity, will benefit Tasmanian development," Mr Edmunds said. He said the company, which has grown by 15 employees in the past year would take on 10 to 12 new employees, mainly apprentices, in the next six months. Premier Paul Lennon opened the extensions and said the Government was pleased to provide $700, 000 assistance to a company doing"exciting, groundbreaking work and helping to put Tasmania on the map".