Vestas, the world’s largest wind-turbine manufacturer, seller and installer, announced a plan to hire about 60 more plant workers as the company expands its operations in Colorado after a $1 billion investment paid off over the past months. The Danish company hired over 40 new employees at its Windsor blade factory before Christmas, bringing its workforce to 690. The company is slated to add another 60 in 2011 to service the growing demand, with 17 new orders or equivalent to 1,833 megawatts expected to be ordered in the US and Canada by the end of 2010.

Dan Shreve, an industry analyst with MAKE Consulting, attributed the recent development to a $ 1 billion investment into the company. “The Danish company’s investment in four plants in Windsor, Brighton and Pueblo gives Vestas increased competitiveness and market share.” He added: “The investments have enabled Vestas, along with GE Energy and Siemens AG, to dominate the U.S. market. The three companies snared 90% of the contracts in 2010.” Shreve added that the Vestas investment also made it less dependent on exportation. “By building its components in the US, the company has cut transportation costs and the risks of currency fluctuations on imports.”

Tom Clark, Executive Vice President of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, commended the strategic decisions of Vestas amidst the industrywide decline of demand. “In 2010, Vestas led the clean-tech sector in Colorado, which had a 7.1% employment growth, while we were losing jobs in other sectors.” The American Wind Energy Association revealed that in 2010, until November, installations were down by 72%, or only 1,643 megawatts of capacity compared to 2009 numbers.

Vesta officials added that a second blade factory is scheduled to open in Brighton sometime this year that will lead to the employment of an additional 600 employees. The Pueblo tower factory is also projected to add over 20 workers, bringing its plant workforce to 450.