Algoma Steel Embarks on Wind Energy Joint Venture

"The time has come for Canadians to pursue more renewable sources of energy," said Denis Turcotte, Algoma Steel President and Chief Executive Officer. "This move toward value-chain integration represents the very sort of strategic development that will serve to position Algoma Steel as a world class company for the mid to long term."

SIAG, a private entity based in Germany, is a leading supplier of wind towers for the European market, presently operating seven production facilities in France, Germany and the Czech Republic and accounting for more than 13% of the European tower-fabricating capacity.

The partnership will operate a wind tower fabricating facility with two production lines on a section of property adjacent to the Algoma steelworks. With both production lines operating, the facility will have the capacity to produce 180 wind towers per year, beginning with more than 20 employees and ramping up in parallel with production to employ approximately 140 people.

"We are excited by this promising new market and are eager to supply the North American wind energy industry with our high-quality towers and components fabricated locally, close to our customers," said Ruediger Schaaf, SIAG Chief Executive Officer.

Several provincial and community partners support the project.