Suzlon Energy Ltd

Integrating global wind power

Headquarter: Pune, India
Employees: 14,000

Suzlon and Tulsi Tanti came with the wind and blew in to India a pioneering move in wind power generation. Tanti, the Chairman and Managing Director of the company, was named Champion of the Earth – 2009 by the United Nations Environment Program for his entrepreneurial vision in combating climate change. Champions of the Earth winners are selected to represent the cutting edge in innovative thinking and execution of these efforts.

Suzlon follows a best-of-all-worlds philosophy - going where the expertise lies to bring together the best experts and knowledge, creating the world's best products. In line with this practice, Suzlon has a long-established presence in the Netherlands through Suzlon Blade Technology - a subsidiary focusing on advanced research and development in aerodynamics for wind turbine rotor blades. The Suzlon Group Management Center is in Amsterdam while a Suzlon R&D facility AE Rotor Techniek is in Hengelo.

Suzlon Energy Ltd has a small representative office in Amsterdam. Proximity to the company's concerns in Belgium based Hansen Transmissions International and German wind turbine manufacturer REpower was another strong reason for Suzlon to explore the Netherlands. In fact in June 2009, Suzlon made the final payment to Martifer Group of Portugal for its stake in Repower, a deal through which both companies will gain by getting access to an integrated range of wind turbines and to each other’s markets across the world.

Started in 1994, Suzlon now ranks fifth in the world with a global market share of over 10.5% in just a decade. It is talked of as the second most integrated company in the global industry, following only Gamesa. During this period the company came up and remained in the ranks of leading manufacturers in India and garnered 50 percent of the market share in the sector. This leading supplier of wind turbines has its areas of operations spread across America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Highly vertically integrated wind turbine manufacturer with manufacturing capability along the full value chain the company has manufacturing units on three continents and its R&D facilities are centered in Asia. They backed up their global business with setting up manufacturing facilities to keep up. These came up in Belgium, China, India and the United States. R&D was divided over Belgium, turbine development from India and Germany and aerodynamics research in the Netherlands. Suzlon matches innovation with quality, with systems certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to ISO 9001:2000 standards.

Suzlon finds its strength not only in its technology, quality and market share, but also from its people. Here's where the largest teams in the wind energy business shows a remarkable synergy of over a dozen nationalities in its fold. Suzlon in its vision for future growth aims to rank among the top three wind turbine manufacturers worldwide, maximizing growth while maintaining margins for the benefit of all.

The Suzlon Group will continue to grow its presence in the Netherlands, creating employment opportunities and creating new avenues of collaboration with other companies and institutions.

Source: Nupur; Updated: July 2009