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MHI to Build Gas Turbine Combustor Manufacturing Plant in Georgia,
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Tokyo, September 24, 2009 - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has formulated a plan to build a gas turbine manufacturing plant in the U.S., and as the plan's initial phase the company will construct a plant near Savannah, Georgia, to produce combustors, a key component of gas turbines, targeting production launch by the end of 2010. The plan also calls for MHI to develop this initiative further, taking subsequent market conditions into account, toward the establishment of a base in the U.S. to both manufacture and service gas turbines. With the establishment of this base in North America, where significant increase in demand for gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power generation systems is expected, MHI aims to enhance its worldwide gas turbine production capacity to 50 units per year.
Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MPSA), a Florida-based subsidiary that serves as regional headquarters of MHI's power systems business in the Americas, will be in charge of constructing and operating the new plant. MPSA has already secured a 119-acre site near Savannah.
The new plant dedicated to combustor manufacture, construction of which is slated to begin before the end of this year, will have advanced production lines similar to those of MHI's Takasago Machinery Works in Hyogo Prefecture, the company's main gas turbine production facility. The plant will undertake fully integrated manufacturing, from welding assembly to processing and coating.
With GTCC type power generation, gas and steam turbines are used in combination to generate electricity in two stages, utilizing high-temperature exhaust gas from the gas turbine. This configuration enables GTCC power plants to achieve higher thermal efficiency than other plants incorporating earlier technology, such as conventional boiler steam turbine plants. Higher efficiency means that GTCC plants reduce fuel consumption relative to electricity output and emit less CO2, thus making them friendlier to the environment.
In a quest to promote increased adoption of GTCC power generation systems globally and to realize its aim to secure a 30% share of the world market, MHI looks to establish a structure enabling production of 50 gas turbines per year, up from the current 36 units, and is taking various initiatives toward realizing that target. The new U.S. plant will be of core strategic importance to the achievement of its plan. In step with market developments in 2011 and beyond, MHI intends to enhance its U.S. base structure incrementally: commencing with the manufacture of gas turbine core components and assembly, and then proceeding to the full manufacture of gas turbine products and the provision of a wide range of maintenance and upgrading services for gas and steam turbines, including major components such as rotors and valves. Through these initiatives, MHI intends to respond to demand not only in North, Central and South America but worldwide.
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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.