Vestas HQ | x feet | 5 floors | Complete

[dkealoha]

From the Oregonian: http://www.oregonlive.com/business/o...970.xml&coll=7

Economy could redirect Vestas' plan to expand Portland headquarters
The wind farm developer's board will meet Monday to go over investment decisions
Portland - The downturn could affect the company's plans to expand its headquarters
Friday, February 13, 2009
RICHARD READ
The Oregonian Staff
Vestas Wind Systems' decision on whether to expand its U.S. headquarters in Portland is blowing in the wind, says the Danish company's chief executive, as managers wait for the market to improve.

Ditlev Engel said in a phone interview Thursday that financing has dried up for wind-farm developers, slashing orders for his turbine-manufacturing company. Engel is eager to see what wind-power incentives made it into the final version of the U.S. economic stimulus plan.

Vestas may reduce jobs if the rate of new orders doesn't improve in the next 11 weeks, Engel told Bloomberg News on Wednesday. In Portland on Monday, he plans to chair a Vestas America board meeting, in which managers will outline the latest headquarters-expansion plans.

"If the market is moving again, then we will definitely look very favorably on this," Engel said Thursday, on his way to catch a flight from New York to San Francisco. "But if things are dried up completely, as they are now, then we will have to look at all our investments again."

Vestas managers said in December that given sufficient state and city incentives, they would add about 850 white-collar jobs to their Portland work force of 350 and spend about $250 million on new headquarters. Last month they said the number of additional jobs would be 650.

On Wednesday, Roby Roberts, Vestas America senior vice president of external relations, said plans had been revised somewhat. The company has about 300 workers in Portland, a total that would increase to 850 by the end of 2011, Roberts said.

Vestas managers would like to break ground in August on the 400,000-square-foot headquarters, expandable to 600,000 square feet, he said. The objective would be to move into the complex during the fourth quarter of 2011 or the first quarter of 2012, he said.

Vestas has hired an architect, Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects of Portland, and is eyeing three to five sites, mostly in the South Waterfront district, Roberts said. The city and state combined have offered as much as $31.5 million in direct incentives, with the Legislature set to review the state portion.

"These are obviously an important part of the overall funding," Engel said. But, he said, "everything is up to what's happening in the financing world."

Richard Read: 503-294-5135; richread@aol.com

[WestCoast]

talk about a potential kick in the face while you're down!

[RoseCtyRoks]

Didn't see this 'til today, but Mayor Adams had a meeting in Portland with Vestas CEO Ditlev Engel a week ago Monday (after the friday the 13th bad news) You go Sam! Keep this thing goin!! Hopefully, there will be a realization that this is still a great plan for Vestas, and that the incentives will lure them here, as far as the HQs. There's got to be some more news on their meeting......here's a pic anyway:

http://www.portlandonline.com/mayor/...49519&a=230638

[philopdx]

My name is Ditlev. Your narrative has become tiresome. Touch my Monkey - TOUCH IT!

Now is the time vee Dance!!



In all seriousness, Ditlev didn't look like a guy delivering good news.

[bvpcvm]

Originally Posted by philopdx

My name is Ditlev. Your narrative has become tiresome. Touch my Monkey - TOUCH IT!

Now is the time vee Dance!!



In all seriousness, Ditlev didn't look like a guy delivering good news.

^ dieter

[philopdx]

Ah, yes I'm glad someone got the joke - I think.

"Monday, Sam spoke with Ditlev Engel about the Vestas' continued commitment to develop their headquarters in Portland, the recent State and Federal stimulus packages and how the City of Portland and Vestas can work together to help shape an effective, long-term Federal energy policy."

I figured Ditlev was close enough to Dieter and Denmark close enough to Germany.

[MarkDaMan]

when it rains, it pours....


Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 10:11am PDT | Modified: Tuesday, April 28, 2009, 2:35pm
Plans for new Vestas headquarters on hold
Portland Business Journal

Wind turbine giant Vestas Wind Systems on Tuesday said it has slowed its plans to build a new 600,000-square-foot North American headquarters in Portland.

A dearth of activity in capital markets has pushed back ambitious plans to break ground this year, said Roby Roberts, senior vice president of external relations for Vestas Americas, the Danish company’s North American arm.

“We were going to break ground some time this year, but I don’t think we’re going to get that done,” Roberts said. “We’re still committed to (the project), we’re still moving forward. We’re not going at the same pace as before and most of that is the way the capital markets are performing. There’s not much money you can stick into real estate.”

In December, the company, which already hosts a North American headquarters in Portland spread across several buildings, announced plans to consolidate its local operations in a yet-to-be-built headquarters facility, likely in the South Waterfront.

The city and state offered an incentive package totaling about $31.5 million for the project.

Roberts said the company is still considering several properties, with much of its focus on the South Waterfront, and remains in talks with several players, from architects to state and city officials.

Vestas CEO Ditlev Engel in late February told the Portland Business Journal that the company’s first-quarter results would determine the company’s future capital expenses, including the Portland project.

The results came in Tuesday: Revenue jumped 58 percent to $1.4 billion with after-tax profits climbing 70 percent to $73 million. Shipments of wind turbines are up 21 percent.

But the news was mixed.

The company said it is pushing forward on plans to expand manufacturing capacity in China and the U.S., where it is building plants in Colorado.

But that expansion led the company to layoff 1,900 workers in Denmark and England, where until recently it had been manufacturing for the fast-growing U.S. market. The demand in those markets can no longer absorb the capacity generated by those plants.

In its announcement Tuesday, Vestas said revenue is expected to rise 20 percent this year to $9.4 billion — up from $7.8 billion last year.

Its investments in property, plant and equipment and other assets are expected to rise by just over $1.3 billion, down from a previous forecast of about $1.6 billion, thanks to its reduced investments in Denmark and Europe.

http://portland.bizjournals.com/port...8&ana=e_du_pub

[urbanlife]

This just in, Vestas new headquarters will be downsized to a kiosk in the Lloyd Center Mall.

Wow, this is really getting crappy....I am starting to wonder how exactly Portland will be able to pick itself up from this recession because this is really getting too big for any one country to handle.

[cab]

Vestas pulled this a few years ago as well. I don't expect them to every build in PDX.

[RoseCtyRoks]

Thought I'd put this on the Vestas HQ thread. Maybe this HQ thing in Portland will keep spreading, and keep corporations zeroing in on our area.

Perhaps news like this can spur Vestas to continue with their original plans, even though it's not on the same scale.....it sure can't hurt!


http://www.oregonlive.com/business/i...icks_port.html

[Snowden352]

A zinc battery maker? Nope. The future's in LITHIUM m'boy! There be gold in them thar hills! (in Chile and Bolivia)

[sowat]

^ the article says:

The company says zinc-based batteries deliver more than twice the energy of batteries made with lithium, a substance less abundant in the United States. Zinc-air technology, which can be used in hearing aids and energy grid storage, cost less to make and are safer to use, the company says.

Zinc-air batteries could be recharged by mechanically replacing spent electrolytes and particles with fresh ones, according to a circular from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

"This mechanical recharging is expected to take minutes at the equivalent of a gas station -- no time is wasted on conventional electrical recharging," the Lawrence Berkeley bulletin says. "The battery could give electric vehicles the same driving range as gas-fueled vehicles, while eliminating exhaust pollution."

[MarkDaMan]

Vestas lays off 114 in U.S. on soft demand for wind turbines
By Brent Hunsberger, The Oregonian
February 11, 2010, 2:06PM

Vestas Americas, the sales and service arm of Danish wind-turbine maker Vestas Wind Systems, cut 114 positions on Wednesday, or 6 percent of its North American work force, because of softening demand for renewable energy projects, a spokeswoman confirmed.

Among the cuts were 15 positions at its North American headquarters in Portland, said Aili Jokela, the firm's vice president of communications, today. None of the layoffs affected its four factories in Colorado, Jokela said.

The news comes as a setback to efforts by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Portland Mayor Sam Adams to get Vestas to expand in Portland. The company last year delayed plans to move into larger headquarters in the city.

Portland and state officials had offered as much as $31.5 million in direct incentives for the expansion. And Kulongoski flew to Europe in October partly to meet with Vestas executives to push the project.

Adams and a spokeswoman for Kulongoski both said they continue to work with the company. Adams used the opportunity to call on Congress to pass a national energy policy.

"The urgency of enacting a national energy policy couldn't be greater right now," Adams said. "I never like to hear about layoffs but I’m grateful there were only 15 in our market."

Jokela said she could not comment on what the layoffs meant for Vestas' expansion plans. But she said the company expects demand to pick up later this year.

"We actually are very positive for the future with wind energy," Jokela said. "We think the market will turn around in 2010 and 2011."

Vestas in Denmark on Wednesday cut its 2010 revenue and operating profit forecasts, saying customers were having trouble securing financing for renewable projects. It said it now expects orders to materialize so late in the year that its revenue won't reach 8 billion Euros.

Vestas Americas initially planned to break ground last year on a 400,000-square-foot headquarters, expandable to 600,000 square feet, along Portland's South Waterfront.

On Thursday, Adams said city incentives for an expansion remain, depending on which site Vestas selects. "It’s more options than just the site on South Waterfront," he said.

On Wednesday, Vestas said it expects to add 1,300 employees worldwide to bring its overall employment to 22,000. Before the layoffs, Vestas employed 1,800 in North America, including just more than 400 in Portland.

-- Brent Hunsberger

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/i...n_us_on_s.html

[digme]

From the Portland Business Journal:
http://portland.bizjournals.com/port...6/daily22.html

Vestas keeps HQ in Portland, moving to the Pearl

Wind turbine giant Vestas Wind Systems A/S on Wednesday said it will lease an old Meier & Frank warehouse in the Pearl District and turn it into a 172,000-square-foot gleaming new headquarters.
Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Vestas Americas President Martha Wyrsch announced the news in a press conference at City Hall at noon.
Vestas received both state and city incentives for the $66 million project, which is expected to create 600 construction-related jobs.
The company will receive $1 million from the state’s strategic reserve fund and has the potential to receive an additional $1.25 million in state tax credits.
The agreement stipulates that the company, which employs 400 locally, must add at least 100 jobs within the next five years. Once built out, the building will have room to house 600 workers as Vestas continues to grow.
The city will give the company a 15-year, interest-free loan for $8.105 million. The company is expected to repay the loan within five years, Adams said.
Construction will begin in October. Vestas plans to move to the building in early 2012. It will occupy 133,258 square feet of office space. The remaining 39,000 square feet is a parking garage.

The announcement will end years of speculation about the company's future in Portland.
In December 2008, the Danish company said it would build a roughly $250 million, 600,000-square-foot new North American headquarters in the South Waterfront. The building could have eventually housed 850 jobs.
Vestas employees are spread out across several buildings downtown.
The city and state ultimately put together a $41.5 million tax incentive package for the proposed South Waterfront project. The company mothballed the plan in April 2009 when the economy collapsed.
Since then, rumors swirled that the company might relocate its North American headquarters to Denver, where it has been ramping up its manufacturing operations. The company recently said it would build a research and development facility in Denver, further fueling speculation.
The company said it also looked at sites in Texas and around the Portland area before deciding on the Meier & Frank warehouse.

The news is a big win for both Kulongoski and Adams, who have pinned much of the state's economic future to the development of the green economy.
Portland-based Gerding Edlen Development Co. bought the Meier & Frank Delivery Depot in October 2007 for $15 million.
Gerding-Edlen, which is known for its green buildings, planned to start renovating the building in May 2008. That plan also stalled when the economy slowed.
The building, 1417 N.W. Everett, was erected in 1927 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Also Wednesday, Vestas parent company Vestas Wind Systems A/S reported a 17 percent drop in second-quarter revenue to about $1.3 billion and downgraded its full-year sales and earnings forecast, sending its shares — traded on the Danish stock exchange — down nearly 20 percent to a new yearly low.
Yet second-quarter sales for Vestas’ Americas division — a region that spans both North and South America — more than tripled to $530 million, living up to its billing as the company’s biggest growth market.
Features of Vestas new headquarters
Solar photovoltaic roof panels.
Rainwater reuse collection system.
Under-floor mechanical ventilation.
Secured interior storage for 80-plus bicycles.
Auditorium to accommodate up to 250 people.
Open workspace on five floors.
Stacked car parking for 183 cars.
Parking that can be converted to workspace.

[New Madrid]

Great news. (But stacked parking? Erm ok, we'll see...)

[mmeade]

I wonder if we will see stacked parking similar to the system that GED and GBD used in their apartment building on Hawthorne. It is a robot operated system that is actually quite interesting and functional.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR21N3S97g4

[shaggon16]

Wow.....that is an impressive parking garage in Hawthorne (see previous you-tube video)! I haven't seen anything like it but if Vestas can make it work, more power to them. I am just excited to know that Vestas chose to make good use of the old Meier and Frank building. It has great character but needs desperate TLC which shows through the remodeled renderings. I will be keeping my eye on this project. By the way.....I have tried to get an account for this stinking site for six months now and I finally got a username and password!

[PacificNW]

Welcome to the forum.

[Snowden352]

I love the youtube video. "Come live in our building! Your car will be parked by robots! ROBOTS!!!" I love the present.

[Shilo Rune 96]

Originally Posted by mmeade

I wonder if we will see stacked parking similar to the system that GED and GBD used in their apartment building on Hawthorne. It is a robot operated system that is actually quite interesting and functional.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR21N3S97g4

The future OHSU Schnitzer campus is supposed to have stacked parking.


http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/service...zer-campus.cfm