Following more than one hundred regional meetings and a first seminar last March, AREVA held on June 20 a second “Supplier Day” in Bremerhaven, Germany, dedicated to French companies, future partners with the offshore wind supply chain. This partnership initiative is consistent with AREVA’s strategy of leveraging local skills to build up a new national industry. The challenge is substantial: develop a competitive and sustainable supply chain.: The partners joining AREVA will supply equipment to the Saint-Brieuc wind farm - a project won last April by the Iberdrola-Eole RES consortium - and more generally will have to meet the challenge of exporting to European markets, where more than 7,000 high-powered wind turbines will need to be manufactured and installed in less than ten years.

During the day-long event at Bremerhaven, AREVA representatives provided invited suppliers, most of whom came from Brittany and Normandy, with an overview of the cooperation opportunities in manufacturing wind turbines. No fewer than 300 different components could be provided by this network of suppliers to AREVA's blade and pod manufacturing plants to be implemented in Le Havre, France, by 2015. The dialogue continued with AREVA Wind’s procurement and technical teams during a facility tour, where the attending companies were able to see the different stages involved in the manufacturing of the wind turbines to be installed in the North Sea.

Following the event, interested companies have entered AREVA’s pre-qualification process and will now be supported by a dedicated team, facilitating their access to the new market. Jean Huby, AREVA Wind’s Executive Vice President, said: “We are delighted to see our commitment to developing the French offshore wind industry take shape. The enthusiasm and involvement of the companies from Brittany and Normandy attending the event today reinforce our determination to build together a network of excellence for this industry”.

For Michel Ollivier, Operational department of CDK Composites: “The Supplier Day gave us a better understanding of the technical requirements our companies will have to meet. It also confirmed that we have the ability to take part in this promising market, independently or together with other companies. We are delighted about the opportunity offered by AREVA to join the group in this new industrial adventure that will create jobs and foster economic development in our region”.

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