Media Contact:
Mary Lehecka Nelson
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email: Mary.LeheckaNelson@state.sd.us
South Dakota communities, companies team up for WINDPOWER 2010
5/14/2010
PIERRE, S.D. – For the first time, six South Dakota communities are partnering with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to attend North America’s premier wind energy trade show.
WINDPOWER 2010 will be held May 23-26 in Dallas, Texas.
“Although the state has had a presence at this show since its inception, this is the first time we are exhibiting with community partners,” said Gov. Mike Rounds. “We have had tremendous success with this approach in other targeted industries, and we anticipate similar success with our community partners at WINDPOWER 2010.”
Aberdeen, Brookings, Howard, Madison, Mitchell and Vermillion are participating in the Governor’s Office of Economic Development’s (GOED) Trade Show Co-Op Program, which strives to recruit businesses to South Dakota.
“The Co-Op Program will allow those South Dakota communities to send a personalized, cohesive message to those in the wind industry,” Gov. Rounds said. “Our message will be extremely attractive to that industry because South Dakota has huge wind-energy potential, and we have a business climate that is second to none.”
To learn more about the Trade Show Co-Op Program, future co-op opportunities and other GOED initiatives, please visit www.sdreadytowork.com.
• Making rounds: One wind blade, manufactured at Molded Fiber Glass in Aberdeen, S.D., is taking a tour around the eastern United States before it makes its final stop at the WINDPOWER 2010 show in Dallas. The tour is working to create awareness about clean energy and its effects on jobs and manufacturing (See attached video footage of the blade in Aberdeen). The company is also exhibiting at the WINDPOWER Job Fair at booth JF15.
• Also from South Dakota: The trailer carrying the blade was also made in South Dakota – at Trail King in Mitchell, S.D. Trail King is a company with a history of manufacturing quality trailers and is branching into the wind power industry. The company recently introduced the 13-Axle Hydraulic Schnable System, which is engineered to load and unload wind tower sections without the use of a crane, saving manufacturers time and money.
• Preparing for the future: Mitchell Technical Institute of Mitchell, S.D., implemented South Dakota's only Wind Turbine Technology program at the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. The program complements MTI’s other energy programs, and has been successful from the beginning. The program is full for the fall 2010 semester and additional prospective students are on waiting lists for admission. Additional faculty has been hired and is expected to start in July.
