Siemens Gamesa reopening Hutchinson wind turbine nacelle production facility

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KWCH) - Over the course of a month, Hutchinson has been rocked by employment news. First, 85 layoffs at Hutchinson Regional Medical Center; a few weeks later, Sonoco announced they are shutting down their paper mill after over a century.

“A couple hundred jobs in a short amount of time...that can be devastating,” City manager Kendal Francis said.

But the employment picture is changing, as Siemens Gamesa announced this week that their nacelle production plant will reopen this year. The plant had been closed since last summer.

City manager Kendal Francis has only been on the job for just two months, and remembers hearing rumblings that the company could return to town.

“When I first got here, we knew that they were talking. Things were picking up, and they were expecting to start calling people back. It balances out right about now.”

Any time a company decides to relocate, or in this case, reopen, it’s a bright spot for the local economy.

“When you’re employing a hundred people with very good salaries, that’s absolutely a boon for our economy.”

A Siemens Gamesa spokesperson says hiring and production will be done in phases as required by the manufacturing process. They plan to have initial production begin in the first half of the year.

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