Poised for Growth

"[We] saw the size and potential of the wind market, and it was something we wanted to be a part of"

We have a lot of wind in Minnesota. In fact, Minnesota ranks among the top 10 states for generating energy from wind.

You don’t have to work directly in clean energy to see the benefits. Sometimes, you just have to see the market potential and make investments in your own industry.

Potential in Wind Energy

Anderson Trucking Services, based in Saint Cloud, Minnesota, saw the potential in wind energy.

“ATS started transporting wind in the early 2000s,” said Gene Lemke, vice president of ATS. “We saw the birth of a new industry, and we saw an industry poised to grow very rapidly, so we made strategic investments into equipment and that helped to position us to become the market leader in wind.”

ATS has 12 full-time employees dedicated to transporting wind equipment, and wind now comprises 30 percent of the company’s revenue. “We transport one out three wind loads in the United States,” said Lemke. Since 2003, ATS has hauled more than 190,000 wind components.

The Port of Duluth also plays an important role in the renewable energy supply chain as a global gateway. It is the furthest inland port in North America, which makes it an excellent transportation option for companies in the Midwest. In 2006, the first shipments of wind blades came through the harbor, headed to a wind farm in North Dakota where Minnesota Power purchases electric generation.

In 2011, the Duluth Seaway Port Authority passed a major milestone: more than one million tons of wind turbine components had shipped through the port. The Port of Duluth is now ranked by logistics experts as among the top 10 in the nation for transporting wind equipment. Wind components are shipped in from European suppliers to several midwest locations and shipped out from manufacturers in North Dakota to places such as Spain, Brazil and Chile.