Metso Corporation will construct new technology centers in Jyväskylä, Finland, for the development of its wind power technology and gear service capabilities. The facilities are scheduled for completion in October 2001. The EUR 11 million investment program also involves expanding the production facilities for wind turbine gears. These investments, which are related to Metso’s Future Care business concept, will improve the operating reliability of the customers' processes.
The market for wind power plants is growing annually by 40 percent, with the strongest growth in the highest power classes. The development of gears for wind power plants requires for example full-scale testing facilities and a remote diagnostics capability. Extra facilities are also needed for gear production and the rapidly growing field of gear service.
The new technology center will contain a continuous testing laboratory capable of testing high-power gear units of up to six megawatts. The laboratory will provide facilities that are unique in terms of testing power, making Metso one of the global technology leaders among wind turbine gear manufacturers. Metso’s strong applications know-how in the automation and control technology area will be exploited in developing remote diagnostics for wind power plants and other energy production systems.
The gear service function of the new technology center will focus on global development, training and support operations for maintaining wind power gears, integrated paper machine drives and heavy industrial gears.
The net sales of Metso Corporation's gears and components business group, Santasalo totaled EUR 136 in January – September 2000. The number of personnel was approximately 1,450. The business group has products development, manufacturing and service units in Finland, Sweden, Germany, Canada and the USA.
Metso Corporation is a global supplier of process industry machinery and systems. Metso's business areas are fiber and paper technology, automation and control technology, and machinery. In 1999, the net sales of Metso Corporation were EUR 3.4 billion, and the personnel totaled approximately 23,000. Metso Corporation is listed on the Helsinki and New York Stock Exchanges.