Wind Energy Manufacturing Facility to Locate in Cheyenne

A 160,000 square-foot facility to manufacture wind energy generation equipment will employ 150 when it is constructed in Cheyenne's Swan Ranch Industrial Park, Gov. Matt Mead says.

At a ceremony Tuesday morning, Mead was joined by representatives of Worthington Energy of Ohio and Gestamp Renewables Group of Madrid, Spain. The two companies have partnered to form Gestant Worthington Wind Steel, LLC, the joint venture responsible for the planned facility.

The facility is expected to begin shipping 80-100 foot-long wind tower sections for wind turbines early next year. Current plans call for the construction of enough components for at least 300 turbine each year. The facility will turn out towers for utility scale projects, such as the large 2-3 megawatt towers familiar around Cheyenne.

Mead says Gestamp Worthington's presence in Cheyenne will serve as a magnet to draw other companies to Wyoming. Reiterating remarks from his State of the State address in January, the governor says projects such as this will help diversify Wyoming's economy. "Wyoming has created a great environment for business and continues its national leadership in the energy sector."

"Worthington and Gestamp will work very well together in this joint venture," Gestamp president and CEO Jon Riberas promises. "We have wind tower manufacturing facilities in Spain, Turkey and Brazil, and are happy to be partnering with Worthington for our first North American facility."

Gestamp is a Spanish industrial holding company employing over 20,000 globally. Besides renewables, it also focuses on steel manufacturing for the automotive and solar energy sectors. Worthington Industries employs about 6,500 people across 67 facilities in 11 countries and focuses on providing steel manufacturing services.