The snow has covered Finland again and there is very little daylight… Regardless, The Switchians are staying busy. Development projects are bustling – and deliveries are being shipped out. At the same time, our Key Account Managers are still bringing orders in… Just as Santa gets ready to do his rounds, our year-end commitments are keeping us focused on the work at hand.
Last month’s HUSUM WindEnergy exhibition gave us firm proof that the wind power business is moving ahead again. We’re seeing movement from all different directions and positive signs that the worst may now be over. Bigger and better turbines are currently being developed to respond to future market requirements.
The wind power business has experienced difficulties over the years in different continents. In 2009, the financial crisis squeezed money from the European market. In 2010, the US market slowed down. And most recently, China cooled in 2011.
We have been able to navigate in this turbulent environment, even though The Switch, too, has experienced challenges. Many potential projects have not turned into the planned volume production. Many of our customers have experienced challenges to enter the market, changed ownership or have given up on the wind turbine business.
We have analyzed our success factors – and come to the conclusion that we embrace certain rights, giving The Switch the freedom and ability to excel even during hard times.
All over the world, politicians see the opportunity for job growth in the renewable energy business. For example here in the US, the economy and job creation is one of the key themes in the ongoing primaries and the upcoming presidential election.
The wind and solar power industries offer opportunities to create more good-paying jobs for the local manufacturing industry, particularly as in the past these type of jobs have largely moved to low-cost countries with inexpensive labor, such as China, India, Vietnam and others. In many cases, the job creation opportunity is of higher political interest than concerns about global warming or even the western world’s heavy dependence on imported oil.
