WORLD WIND ENERGY NET

In his 35 years as a longshoreman, Paul Gongwer has never seen anything like what is coming through the Port of Pensacola.
Weighing in at 4 tons each, the 132-foot British-made fiberglass wind turbine blades — along with their cowlings and nacelles — are breathing new life into a port that has seen better times.

"We have 50 men working at the port who haven't been working for years," Gongwer said. "In the past few years, I've had to go to Mobile to find work. But it's getting more and more difficult with the price of gas."

What's keeping Gongwer, a crane operator, busy these days is a $450,000 contract between the port and Vestas, a Denmark-based company that is one of the world's leading suppliers of wind-generator equipment.

The port is about halfway through the contract to offload 182 wind-turbine generating systems, port marketing director Amy Miller said.

The wind-turbine parts are made throughout Europe. They are crated and shipped to Pensacola, then sent by rail and truck to an Indiana wind farm.

Miller expects the contract to continue through the end of this summer.

"Our customers are thrilled, and we're very hopeful that we'll continue to get business from them," she said.

Mike Pate, owner of Pate Stevedoring, believes the port has a good chance to win a second contract in 2009 to handle another 300 Vestas turbine systems.

Pate's company provides the longshoremen for the Vestas contract.

"The contract with Vestas is very good for the port and for local vendors," said Pate. "It's clean, and clean for the country. Everybody should love it."

Port Director Clyde Mathis said the Vestas contract has been a boon for the port, which has experienced a slowdown in business over the past few years. Revenues in 2006 and 2007 declined 25 percent to 30 percent year over year.

"It's (the Vestas contract) providing very significant, very much-needed bump to revenues of the port," Mathis added.

Other local businesses also benefit from the contract.

Deep South Cranes, Pensacola Hardware, Airgas, Inc., and Jacksonville-based CSX railroad have picked up business from the deal.

Pensacola Hardware co-owner Martin Coe said he's supplying everything from Gatorade to metal grinders to Pate Stevedoring.

Deep South Cranes vice president Jimmy White Jr. is also enthusiastic.

"It's really been a savior for the port "» It's been sad to see what some people in this town have done to the port."