Capitalising on skills

Burnie Advocate, Page: 9
Friday, 25 May 2007

FORMER Vestas managing director Lee Whiteley is capitalising on the valuable resource of trained and experienced staff in the windturbine industry. In the wake of last year ’s closure of Vestas ’ windturbine assembly plant at Wynyard, Mr Whiteley is now heading a new company, Southern Prospects. And by the end of next week Southern Prospects plans to employ 27 per cent of the ex-Vestas staff.

"Vestas spent a lot of money on training their employees," he said. "We had a work force that travelled extensively and being able to get that group of people back together and being able to capitalise on a investment that was made by Vestas in those people, we see this is a significant advantage to Southern Prospects." Mr Whiteley said Southern Prospects was a much more diverse business than Vestas, which manufactured and assembled components for wind farms.

Locally, the new company is providing support services to the wind farm at Woolnorth. and other fabrication work. Having worked inter nationally in the industry, Mr Whiteley has a strong interest in attracting new opportunities from outside the region. "I think if we ’re prepared to attract the right expertise and look further afield, than Tasmania and probably even Australia, then we’ll find new opportunities." Mr Whiteley said the company had already sent consultants to Denmark and China.