www.neg-micon.co.uk

NEG Micon Rotors, became part of the NEG Micon group in 1998, when the group decided to make blade technology one of the group’s core technologies. In 2001 NEG Micon decided to open a facility on the Isle of Wight, establishing the Island as the centre of the UK's wind energy industry, an increasingly significant global market.

Julian Brown, Managing Director of NEG Micon Rotors, “There is an ever increasing demand across the world to harness the earth’s natural resources to produce power and NEG Micon are at the forefront of this development.”

“Since we began production on the Isle of Wight in 2001, the size and number of blades produced has almost doubled, initially we produce blades of 23m and are now beginning production of 45m blades, increased our workforce from 150 to over 250 people.”

NEG Micon made the decision to locate a new production facility on the Island for several good reasons, one being the fact that there has long been a tradition of working with epoxy and fibreglass on the Island. The factory’s nearest neighbour is its epoxy supplier. The blades are transported on a barge via a marine transfer facility next to the factory into Southampton International Port for onward shipping. The use of water to transport has greatly reduced costs with the additional benefit of having a minimum environmental impact.

NEG Micon Rotors are also part of the Isle of Wight Enterprise Hub, which focuses on the composites. The aim of the Enterprise Hub is to support the composites industry on the Island, encouraging the development of the technology, helping local companies to work together to create more job prospects for the Island.

Mike King, Enterprise Hub Director for the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership explained, “The Isle of Wight Economic Partnership was instrumental in this important inward investment to the Island. Not only has this lead directly to the creation of high quality jobs, the move has also generated an increase in business for a number of local suppliers, 28 at the last count. Their success has been outstanding and I know they are exceptionally pleased with the quality of the local workforce. We hope their experience will encourage similar businesses to locate on the Isle of Wight, building on the Island’s reputation as a centre of excellence for composites applications and the emerging alternative energy industry.”

The Economic Partnership was able to assist in a variety of areas. These include:

• Successful grant applications.
• Support in the planning process.
• The development of a comprehensive training package.
• Support for the recruitment of their new workforce.
• Support in the development of an innovative transport system using barges on the River Medina including a Waterways grant.