Giants Stronger Together

Q: What benefits has the merger with Acciona Windpower provided to Nordex Group?

A: Nordex Group’s strategy is based mainly on sales. We merged to generate economies of scale, meaning buying more material at lower prices and driving sales up. Nordex Group still retains an independent sales relationship with Acciona Windpower’s former parent, Grupo Acciona, but the group only represents 5 to 8 percent of our global sales. In Mexico, we already have significant clients, such as Enel Green Power and Zuma Energía. The Mexican market is key for us because of the steady and long-term regulatory framework that many other Latin American countries lack. For 2018 and 2019 we want to have a fully consolidated Nordex Group team in Mexico. Nordex Group, being a strong, global and established player in the market, has the advantage of a lean and flexible structure that can offer tailored solutions adapted to the customer’s needs, as well as a fast response in after-sale activities. Our management team is also close to the company’s operational activities, sitting on committees with the rest of our employees to build a strong relationship that results in smoother operations. This ensures quicker recognition and a swifter problemsolving capacity.

Q: How will Nordex Group separate itself from the competition in the Mexican market?

A: The market is extremely competitive, with very low prices in the auctions and ever more companies entering the country. To fight in this environment, we are bringing all the cutting-edge technology solutions we have to the table. Our prices are competitive in terms of both CAPEX and OPEX as we help improve factors such as power curves and decrease O&M requirements. We have a strong, global track record to back us up, with turbines that have been successfully deployed all over the world, withstanding all kinds of harsh environmental conditions. At the end of the day, our business is not to sell turbines but to help our clients win contracts, in any scheme they may want to participate in.

Q: How is Nordex Group supporting the development of a strong local value chain?

A: One of the components we develop locally is our concrete towers, which we used for the Ventika project in Nuevo Leon. This has added a great deal of value to our operations, while also offering an area of opportunity for local providers. In Mexico, we want to focus on helping small and medium-sized companies that are both cost-competitive and flexible in their operations to develop as our partners. We are also analyzing the possibility of increasing our regional content not only with Mexican companies, but also with US and Canadabased companies.

Mexico should take advantage of one of its main strengths that positions it in the global top-tier: logistics. For example, nacelles are made up of many pieces and it is more cost-efficient and easier to transport an entire nacelle, with all its components, than to do so piece by piece. If Mexico could produce an entire nacelle to serve the market, it would be able to compete against countries such as China. To achieve this, a strong procurement value chain is needed, which has not yet fully developed in Mexico. Meanwhile, Chinese turbine manufacturers have an entire environment supporting their activities so they are able to ship a complete nacelle anywhere in the world at a very competitive price. The challenge in Mexico is to develop a local supply chain ecosystem that supports the manufacturing industry to take advantage of the country’s logistics.

Mexico still has an opportunity to compete against countries like China, but the true challenge is cumulating a sales volume large enough to fill the manufacturing facilities. Thanks to the Energy Reform, the projects and investments coming to the country will certainly allow for the development of a strong value chain.