Philippe Kavafyan (right)

Taipei, March 28 (CNA) The Denmark-based wind turbine manufacturer MHI Vestas Offshore Wind (MVOW) forged cooperation links with several Taiwanese material suppliers Wednesday in a bid to make inroads into the Taiwan market and further afield to markets in Southeast Asia.

MVOW signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with Kaohsiung-based China Steel Machinery Corp. for cooperation in the manufacture of wind turbine towers; with Red Blades Windtek Corp. in the production of wind turbine blades; with Swancor for composite materials and fossil resins; and with Formosa Plastics Corp. for raw materials used in the production of turbine blades.

The collaboration will enable MVOW to fabricate wind turbines with materials produced by the Taiwanese companies, according to MOVW CEO Philippe Kavafyan, who said during the signing ceremony that his company was attracted by Taiwan's advanced manufacturing capacity and its government's keenness to explore and develop renewable energy resources.

MVOW was founded in 2014 as a joint venture of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Vestas Wind Systems. The company manufactures, installs and operates wind turbines that are used by energy companies to generate power in offshore locations.

On Tuesday, MVOW was picked by China Steel Corp. and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners as their wind turbine supplier for their wind projects off Taiwan's west coast.

Describing Taiwan as MVOW's priority market, Kavafyan said his company is expected to introduce to Taiwan new opportunities in the areas of employment, procurement and manufacturing.

The MOUs represent MVOW's pledge to bury its roots deeply in Taiwan, he said, adding that in the future, the company will further enter Southeast Asia as a response to the Taiwan government's New Southbound Policy.

After the ceremony, Kavafyan told reporters that MVOW plans to set up its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Taiwan by the second quarter of the year and could possibly establish a production line here around 2022, depending on licensing procedures. 

(By Huang Ya-chuan and Elizabeth Hsu)
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