PES: Welcome to PES magazine. Can you begin by explaining a little about the company and how you serve the wind industry?

Michael Birk Petersen: We supply the world with forgings, seamless rolled rings, and the raw material for gears and bearings. We have a production base in South Korea, and from here we have a global logistics system that transports from door to door.

The company is 31 years this year (the oldest forging company in the wind industry), is listed on various stock exchanges, and enjoys a healthy financial turnover of around 550 million USD.

PES: The company’s primarily Korea-based. How do you manage to service your clients within Europe?

MP: We have taken a strategy to stay close to the market, in the same time zone, and to share the culture of our customers – and that’s why we set up an office in Denmark. (We also have sales offices located in US, India and China.) We do business all over Europe and I am personally responsible for the global accounts – clients such as Siemens Wind Power and others.

We offer one point of contact for our clients, and this helps them because it can be a big step for local manufacturers to buy from the Far East. We speak the same language, share the same culture, and can go and visit them pretty much anywhere in Europe in an hour or two. The customer is more reassured, and it eases communication.

PES: And what level of service do you offer to European customers?

MP: We take care of everything, from the initial enquiry up to delivery at the customer’s facility. This includes the quoting process, negotiation, logistics and all paperwork. The customers talk to Europeans, who are their only point of contact in Taewoong. It means that the people here in our office have very close relations with our customers on a day-to-day basis.

PES: Similarly, how important is Europe to your worldwide wind operation? Is it an area where you see future growth?

MP: If we look at our total turnover, wind makes up around 45-48 per cent. And if you take Europe off that, it accounts for around 40 per cent. We have seen stable growth over the last five years, and have taken market share from our competitors. I can say with pride that it is because we have a good supply chain and quality of products.

Talking your languageAs Sales Director (Europe) for Taewoong, Michael Birk Petersen is a familiar face to many in the industry. The company specialises in seamless rolled rings and open die forgings, and from its satellite office in Denmark, serves all of Europe. We spoke to Michael about the company, the stability of the sector, and future growth.

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We do very well from our Denmark base, and that’s because we speak German, we speak English, we speak quite a few European mother tongues.

Historically, there has been a certain reluctance to deal with Asia because of a certain reputation for quality. However, South Korea is a very different country to China and other low cost countries. The living expenses and living standards are up to European measures, and our facility performs as high, or higher, than competitors in Europe. We are known for quality, for innovation, for reliability. You have to trust in what you sell. And I certainly do!

PES: We note that you’ve set a goal for growth in 2012. Are you meeting your expectations in this regard?

MP: Well, it’s probably going to be the same as 2011 and we’re expecting the same again next year. Our customers choose us as a sort of safe harbour in stormy times; they come back to us because they know that we are reliable in both pricing and supply. Certainly, you can buy cheaper products, but our strategy is

to be reliable and to deliver quality. We don’t dump prices. We do adjust our prices according to the raw materials, etc, but our aim is to be known in our market for quality and reliability

PES: Can you tell us a little about the Siemens Supplier Award, which your company won earlier this year?

MP: Certainly, we’ve won this two years in a row, and have been honoured for our achievements in the Global Value Sourcing field. Siemens themselves said: “This company, a strategic supplier in the wind power sector, delivers high quality and fine service, and does so on schedule.”

PES: The company does a lot of work with companies large and small. How do you assist in their wind power activities?

MP: We do business with both global OEMs such as Siemens Wind Power, Vestas, GE Wind – some of them for more than eight years. And then we also do business with the upstream supply chain in the wind power business, such as gear manufacturers and tower manufacturers.

As far as our work goes, it’s getting more and more integrated. We get involved in the development stage (especially for the design of the main shaft, which can be up to 25 tons) and look at everything from materials to properties and quality. Everybody wants to have efficient projects, so you have to look for new ways to save money and costs, while maintaining performance.

PES: You’re the market leader in the manufacture of forgings and rolled rings. What steps are you taking to ensure that you stay one step ahead of the competition?

MP: We are always trying to be proactive and to find new set-ups. We have been developing our forging shop for the last 15 years, and will continue to do so. Among the new technologies we have implemented is profile forging equipment on our ring rolling mill. This makes us more competitive in quality and pricing for the tower flanges for the wind turbine towers. We always focus on new technologies and logistical setups. Our pieces are very big, and they cost a lot of money to transport, so therefore we always look for new ways of doing it.

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PES: How long is the process, on average, from a European customer ordering one of your products to delivery on site?

MP: If we look at a Tower flange, which is one of our main products, the delivery time from order to delivery at the door of the customer is down to eight weeks in some cases. This often surprises new customers, who are used to lead-times for tower flanges of nine to ten weeks. And that’s even from a European supply base, who do not have a five week transit time for transport. We can also only do that because at all times we have a large raw material stock to serve various material grades. And of course, we have a really efficient production setup.

PES: Are there any issues regarding the import of products from South Korea to Europe?

MP: South Korea has signed a FTA (Free Trade Agreement) with EU, which makes the import very easy. And the customers should not worry about it, as we take care of the complete supply chain

PES: Your wind energy shafts weigh-in at over 25 tons. Does the worldwide transportation of these parts present you with any problems?

MP: We have longstanding agreements

with shipping and forwarding companies,

and we focus on the whole journey. It is a

fairly expensive system, so we optimise it to

get the best results.

Michael Petersen: +45 31 69 98 99;

m.petersen@taewoong.dk

www.taewoong.com

“We always focus on new technologies and logistical setups. Our

pieces are very big, and they cost a lot of

money to transport, so therefore we always look for new ways of

doing it”

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