The official did not provide the exact growth percentage because the company is now in that “quiet period” before closing its fiscal year, which in the case of Siemens, occurs at the end of September.
“We saw a significant rise in orders, but since these orders can produce their effects over the next few years, as well, I cannot say what the value of the turnover is. Anyway, 2011 has been better than 2010,” says Secosan.
Among the factors that turned 2011 into a year of growth after the 2010 stagnation are the contracts to deliver wind turbines.
In the summer of this year, wind farms with an installed capacity similar to that of a reactor of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant (SE Romania) have started operating. Wind farms have come to be the only energy sector which has seen investments of hundreds of millions of euros from giants such as Enel (Italy), CEZ (the Czech Republic), Energias de Portugal and Verbund (Austria).
The development of these projects, most of them located in the Dobrogea area (SE Romania), has created of a huge market of services for the sector.
Consultants, transporters, electricians, builders, all stood to gain from this wind farm boom, which has often been likened to the evolution of the real estate market in the years preceding the crisis. But the biggest slice of the market went to equipment suppliers.
According to European statistics, around 75% of the value of a wind farm is accounted for by wind turbines. Since only certain components are manufactured in Romania, the big gains have so far been made by turbine manufacturers, such as Germany’s Siemens, the USA’s GE and Denmark’s Vestas.
“At the moment we have 170MW turbines ordered for wind farms under construction, 180MW turbines for which we are due to sign contracts next week, and between 250MW and 300MW for which we have submitted firm offers and are awaiting answers – they have a 10 and 50% chance of becoming reality, ” says Secosan, without specifying which companies will buy Siemens turbines. At an average price of around EUR1.5-1.7 million per installed MW, Siemens could collect over EUR600 million for the local farms.
According to the latest data available, the turnover of Siemens reached over EUR208 million last year.
Secosan firmly believes that, despite the pressure renewable energy puts on the price of energy, green energy will be the industry’s future, alongside coal-derived energy. Secosan’s estimate is based on several factors.
The first is Germany’s decision to completely scrap nuclear energy by 2022 following the incidents at Japanese nuclear station Fukushima Daiichi. The second is the fact that hydrocarbons will run out in the longer term. In the case of Romania, for instance, gas and oil will last for around 15 more years, while coal reserves are enough to last hundreds of years.
Apart from orders on the wind farm segment the company has had more work. “Since the beginning of the year we have hired around 1,000 people in production and a significant number in research,” added Secosan.
According to company representatives, the merger did not involve personnel cuts. Products manufactured at Siemens include components for electric engines and electric cables for rolling stock.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)