Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy today welcomed Her Majesty The Queen to its offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing factory at Alexandra Dock, Hull.
On arrival at the site, Her Majesty drove the full 75 metre length of the turbine blade that featured as an art installation in the Queen Victoria Square, in Hull city centre, as part of the Hull City of Culture 2017 celebrations.
Her Majesty was driven in to the factory building, where the giant turbine blades are hand crafted. Presented to Her Majesty were leading figures in Siemens Gamesa, both from the UK and abroad, including Global CEO Markus Tacke, UK Managing Director, Clark MacFarlane and CEO of Siemens AG, Joe Kaeser and Siemens PLC, Juergen Maier.
Clark MacFarlane accompanied Her Majesty on a short tour of the factory, taking in a visit to the moulds where the mammoth 75 metre turbine blades are handmade as a single, unbroken section. Clark introduced The Queen to employees including apprentices working on the blades under construction and they explained their work. .
Following this, The Queen met representatives from two organisations closely associated with Siemens Gamesa in Hull, Greenpower and Pathway Plus. Siemens Gamesa aided Greenpower, an organisation teaching school children the benefits of renewable energy through the construction and racing of electric cars, in staging a race at the city's KCOM stadium for 33 teams of young engineers, ranging in age from 9 to 25 years old.
As a major employer in Hull, Siemens Gamesa has worked extensively with Pathway Plus in achieving their goal of creating sustainable futures for young people with Education, Health or Care plans through industrial placements. Students from the initial group following the Pathway Plus programme with a placement at the Hull factory, have gone on successfully to gain full-time employment.
Her Majesty finished her tour of the factory by unveiling a plaque marking the day of her visit.
