Tech Corridor Attending European Wind Conferences

Visiting Hamburg and Husum in September and October

Working regionally to pursue business and economic development opportunities in wind energy, representatives from the Iowa City Area Development (ICAD) Group and Priority One will be traveling to two of the largest wind energy shows in Europe.

Dennis Jordan and Jeff Rossate from Priority One will attend HUSUM WindEnergy, September 21 – 25, in Husum, Germany.  This biennial conference attracts more than 900 exhibitors and 25,000 visitors from 70 nations.  This is Priority One’s fourth trip to the global conference.

In October, Mark Nolte from ICAD Group will attend the Wind Energy Update Global Supply Chain Conference in Hamburg, Germany, and will represent the area on the “US Opportunity” panel.  ICAD Group presented at a similar conference earlier this year in Chicago.

Attendance at these events allows Priority One and ICAD Group staff to maintain relationships with industry leaders, as well as connect with emerging companies looking for growth and expansion opportunities.

Special attention is paid to European businesses because countries like Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands are considered the birth place of modern wind energy technology.  “Though wind energy is still a relatively new industry in the United States, European companies have been developing modern wind energy technology since the 1970s.  They are definitely the industry leaders,” said Dennis Jordan, interim president of Priority One. 

The Cedar Rapids/Iowa City region is a unique market for wind energy, and is already home to two turbine manufactures, Clipper Windpower in Cedar Rapids and Acciona in West Branch. 

“I think the success that companies like Clipper and Acciona have found here can be attributed to all the resources our region has to offer, like the talented workforce coming out of engineering programs at the University of Iowa and Iowa State University,” said Jordan.

Working with the City of Iowa City, ICAD Group has started marketing an industrial park on the city’s east side as the nation’s first Wind Energy Supply Chain Campus.

Joe Raso, President of ICAD Group, agrees that there are many advantages to our Midwestern location.  “The location of the Tech Corridor offers wind energy companies the potential to expand upon an existing synergistic cluster in the heart of the wind belt,” said Raso.  “We have coordinated our message with Priority One to focus on the benefits of our location, our talented and educated workforce, and our innovative spirit.”

The Corridor region has an established history of success attracting European companies to our area.  In the past five years, ICAD Group and Priority One have helped seven European companies establish operations in the region.