Wind Blade Manufacturer Polymarin Composites To Build Wind Turbine Blades In Arkansas

Wind Power is on the rise in central Arkansas! Little Rock, AR is quickly becoming a wind power mecca. Polymarin Composites USA announced that it is opening a wind blade manufacturing unit at a closed Levi’s distribution center in south Little Rock, and expect to be producing wind blades at full capacity within four years. The plant is expected to produce blades as long as 250 feet long.

Polymarin Composites will be joined at the new facility by Wind Water Technology, which is a supplier for the wind blade manufacturer. The Little Rock facility will be Polymarin’s first plant in the United States. As many as 800 people will be employed between the two companies when the facility gets up to full production.

Polymarin, based in the netherlands is owned by Energya. Energya produces DirectWind 900 kW and 750 kW turbines which were selected in the wind power category of the 2008 Guardian/Library House CleanTech 100.

Little Rock is also home to LM Glasfiber which is presently operating in a temporary facility. LM Glasfiber is spending $150 million on a manufacturing facility at the Port of Little Rock, and according to Forbes will eventually employ 1,000 workers.

Glasfiber, which has teamed up with German company REpower Systems to develop wind turbine blades, claims the distinction of building the world’s longest wind turbine blades.

With the rise in windpower capacity taking off, Little Rock will be churning out wind turbine blades across the country. That will be helped by a little add on to the $700 billion dollar bail out bill just passed by Congress, which gives a tax break on wind generated power. I hope that this leads to more growth in sustainable industries in our neighborhood.