Design, development, manufacturing, installation and service of onshore and offshore wind turbines
Vestas Wind Systems A/S
Aarhus N · Copenhagen S · Videbæk · Hamburg · Berlin · Husum · Rheine · Vienna · Varna · Vaasa · Puteaux (Paris) · Pérols · Athens (Maroussi) · Dublin · RomeNew on Amplifa
About Vestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer of wind turbines headquartered in Aarhus. The company develops, manufactures, installs and maintains onshore and offshore wind turbines as well as turbine components such as rotor blades, nacelles and towers. The value chain encompasses engineering, component manufacturing (glass/carbon composites for rotor blades, steel and hybrid towers, nacelle assembly), project installation, and a globally positioned service business with maintenance, spare parts, repairs and multibrand service for third-party platforms. Key materials are steel and iron (around 88% of turbine mass), concrete, glass/carbon composites, polymers, aluminium and copper; rare earths are used in the permanent magnets of the generators. For 2024, global material consumption amounted to 1,701,000 tonnes. With more than 207 GW of installed capacity in 88 countries and around 56,000 turbines under service in 71 countries, Vestas is one of the largest providers in the industry. In Germany, the company is represented by Vestas Deutschland GmbH in Hamburg (approx. 2,000 employees), Berlin, Husum and Rheine.
- Site
- Aarhus N
- Processes
- Design, development and manufacture of onshore wind turbines, Design, development and installation of offshore wind turbines, Wind turbine maintenance (Maintenance/Service of wind turbines), Gearbox Replacement (multibrand), Generator Replacement (multibrand), Main Bearing Replacement, Blade Bearing Replacement, Transformer Replacement
- Materials
- Steel materials, Iron materials, Concrete, Glass / carbon composites, Polymer materials, Aluminium and alloys, Copper and alloys, Rare earth elements (permanent magnets)
- Certificates
- ISO 9001, IATF 16949
- Founded
- 1945
- Employees
- +35.000
- Industries
- Wind energy, Renewable energies, Energy supply
- 01
Engineering and design of wind turbines
- 02
Component manufacturing (rotor blades, nacelles, towers)
- 03
Supply chain with more than 1,200 suppliers worldwide
- 04
Installation onshore/offshore
- 05
Service, maintenance, spare parts and repair
- 06
Digital services and fleet optimisation
Materials and Processes
Steel and iron
Around 88% of turbine mass (e.g. V162-6.2 MW); in 2024, 1,110,000 t of steel and 185,000 t of iron were processed.
Concrete
Used in hybrid towers made of concrete and steel segments; consumption of 186,000 t in 2024.
Glass/carbon composites
In-house manufacture of rotor blades; consumption of 105,000 t in 2024.
Polymers
Composite and polymer materials for rotor blades and turbine components; 68,000 t in 2024.
Aluminium and alloys
Turbine components; consumption of 19,000 t in 2024.
Copper and alloys
Electrical components and generators; consumption of 11,000 t in 2024.
Rare earths
Permanent magnets in generators of the EnVentus platform; all current turbines use gearless concepts with reduced usage.
Wood (towers)
Stake in Modvion for the manufacture of wind turbine towers made of wood.
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design, development and manufacture of onshore wind turbinesEngineering | – | – | – | – | Steel, Iron, Copper, Aluminium, Glass/carbon composites, Polymers |
| Design, development and installation of offshore wind turbinesEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Wind turbine maintenance (Maintenance/Service of wind turbines)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gearbox Replacement (multibrand)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Generator Replacement (multibrand)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Main Bearing ReplacementAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Blade Bearing ReplacementAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Transformer ReplacementAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Single Blade Removal & Installation / Rotor Removal & InstallationAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gearbox/Generator AlignmentAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Yaw Gear ReplacementAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gearbox Uptower Repair Solutions (HSS and IMS)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Pitch component service (pitch cylinder/motor/controller/battery replacement, hydraulic motor)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Scheduled Maintenance (6-month and 12-month service)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Inspections (blade, gearbox, transformer, foundation)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rotor blade manufacturing (fibreglass/composite components, in-house production)Plastics | – | – | – | – | Glass/carbon composites, Polymers |
| Tower manufacturing (until 2021; steel and hybrid towers)Joining | – | – | – | – | Steel, Concrete |
| Nacelle manufacturingAssembly | – | – | – | – | Steel, Iron, Copper, Aluminium |
| Spare Parts / Repair SolutionsAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Fleet Optimisation / Digital Services (Scipher®, VestasOnline)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Multibrand service for third-party platforms (Siemens, Gamesa, Senvion, Suzlon, Nordex, Alstom, GE)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
6 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tower factory | – | – | – | – | Pueblo, Colorado (sold to CS Wind in 2021) |
| Rotor blade factory | – | – | – | – | Windsor, Colorado |
| Nacelle manufacturing facility | – | – | – | – | Brighton, Colorado |
| Rotor blade factory | – | – | – | – | Lauchhammer (closed in 2021) |
| Production facilities (blades, nacelles, towers) | – | – | – | – | Lem, Nakskov, Isle of Wight, Taranto, Tianjin, Daimiel |
| Test field / test facility (industry's largest testing facility) | – | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Quality
Vestas maintains high standards of quality, durability and performance along the entire value chain and expects the same from suppliers. The service network comprises more than 11,000 service technicians in 71 countries; turbines are extensively tested in the company's own testing facility, the largest in the industry.
| Evidence | Aarhus N |
|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | |
| IATF 16949 |
History
- 1898
Hans Smith Hansen buys a smithy in Lem, West Jutland
- 1945
Founded as Vestjysk Stålteknik A/S by Peder Hansen; initially household appliances
- 1950
Focus on agricultural machinery
- 1956
Manufacture of intercoolers
- 1968
Production of hydraulic cranes for light trucks
- 1979
First wind turbine sold
- 1980
Start of series production of wind turbines; first 80 turbines of 55 kW each
- 1981
First orders from the USA
- 1987
Foundation of Vestas Wind Systems A/S, exclusive focus on wind energy
- 1995
Construction of the Tunø Knob offshore wind farm (10 x V39-500 kW)
- 1998
IPO on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange
- 2003/2004
Merger with NEG Micon A/S
- 2013
Relocation of headquarters from Randers to Aarhus; joint venture MHI-Vestas with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
- 2015
Acquisition of UpWind Solutions (USA); 55,000th turbine erected
- 2016
Acquisition of Availon (Germany)
- 2019
Introduction of the EnVentus platform
- 2021
Closure of plants including the Lauchhammer rotor blade factory; sale of the Pueblo tower factory to CS Wind
- 2022
Presentation of the V172-7.2 MW
- 2024
Prototype V162-7.2 MW erected in Janneby
- 2025/2026
First installation of 200 GW of wind turbines worldwide; more than 207 GW of installed capacity