TPI/VienTek transports 94-ft. (28.6-m.) windmill blades to locations throughout the U.S. southwest from its plant in Juarez, Mexico. Proximity to the market saves the company thousands of dollars per blade in transportation costs, according to Steve Lockard, president of the company, which is a joint venture between Rhode Island-based TPI Composites and Mitsubishi Power Systems.

   For large products destined for the United States, northern Mexico remains the location of choice for obvious logistics reasons. Trucking costs are twice what they are in the U.S., so minimizing that expense is more difficult the farther from the border a facility is. Road infrastructure and security are less predictable in the interior, too, which can add travel time and cost to the transportation equation.
   One large product destined for the United States is a 94-ft. (28.6-m.) wind turbine blade manufactured by TPI/VienTek, which is a joint venture of Rhode Island-based TPI Composites and Mitsubishi Power Systems. The pair established operations in Juarez in 2002 in a 340,000- sq.-ft. (31,600-sq.-m.) facility.
   "Most of the markets we serve are in the western half of the United States, which is our primary market," says Steve Lockard, president of TPI/VienTek and CEO of TPI Composites. "For us, the key cost components are materials, labor and transportation. The blades we make weigh roughly 10,000 lbs. [4,500 kg.] apiece, so transporting them by truck is a big component of the total delivered cost."
   The Juarez location delivers both a labor savings and good access to the U.S. southwest, particularly west Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico, where a number of wind farms are under development (see also the Gulf Coast Special Report and the Great Plains Regional Review in this issue for more on wind energy development). Because the blades are so large, TPI/VienTek transports the blades west from Juarez a short distance to Santa Teresa, N.M., where they cross the border. Crossing from Juarez to El Paso would be cumbersome given the local infrastructure and truck traffic. The company operates a 15-acre (6-hectare) storage site in Santa Teresa.
   Prior to starting operations in Juarez, the company produced the blades in Rhode Island and then transported them to destinations in the western U.S. Manufacturing and transporting them from the current location has resulted in a savings of "thousands of dollars per blade" just in transportation costs, says Lockard.
   TPI/VienTek took over the operations of a residential lighting manufacturer in 2002, complete with staff that was familiar with the border crossing and distribution scenes. So it did not establish a greenfield operation, which Lockard says would have been somewhat more complicated than their experience was. The company is using about 200,000 sq. ft. (18,580 sq. m.) of the facility, which gives it space in which to expand as needed.
   "Our industry is expanding on a worldwide scale, but the western U.S. is one of the richest growth opportunities, which is why the factory in Juarez is so ideally located," says Lockard.