Windmills Coming to Windy City
Chicago is new home to wind turbine company
By MARY ANN AHERN
Updated 2:45 PM CST, Thu, Apr 30, 2009
If you haven't seen a windmill dotting the Chicago landscape just yet, don't worry, you will soon.
Chicago is the new North American Headquarters for Nordex -- a German wind turbine company. So far, just 30 workers have been hired, with plans to expand to 100 in the next three years.
Mayor Richard Daley welcomed Nordex to South Wacker Drive on Thursday, where the company is located. Nordex's goal -- to make 20 percent of their revenues in the U.S. -- as companies look for alternative energy resources.
"America is on the right track; the time is perfect for companies like Nordex," said Ralf Sigrist, Nordex president.
Moving here just months ago, Sigrist said he had no idea how windy it was in Chicago until he "survived here in the dead of winter."
Sigrist is eyeing property along the south lake shore as a possible sight for a wind farm. For those concerned about the noise factor, Sigrist discounts their worries, saying street traffic noise is louder than any windmills.
First Published: Apr 30, 2009 12:41 PM CST
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