Siemens prefer to do their business in the boardroom, not in snappy sound bites
LET'S be honest, if Siemens were flirting with the idea of pulling out of its planned vast Hull wind turbine plant, boss Matthew Chinn could have come up with an excuse not to speak at a packed KC Stadium dinner on Friday night.
Siemens prefer not to shout about their plans, they do their business in the boardroom and in the accounts department. They don't deal in snappy sound bites. A company that makes around £4bn profit a year doesn't really need to.
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An artist's impression of Green Port Hull.
So for a cheerful Mr Chinn, head of energy for UK and North West Europe, to talk at the Chamber of Commerce annual dinner was something of a vote of confidence in the future, a welcome reassurance that the "elephant in the room" as he described it, isn't a carcass being picked at by vultures.
And his message? Yes, Siemens still wants to build a wind turbine assembly plant in Hull. Yes, it could place Hull at the centre of a new industry unparalleled since the oil boom. Yes, it could open up a world of possibilities for young people. Yes, he's working with the right people in Hull. But no, he's not going to say when it will start.
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There's still a lot of work to do. And the Government still has to convince Siemens that it's backing the revolution in green energy. Only then will Mr Chinn's people start welding anything together.
To be honest, even if Mr Chinn had turned up with a shovel and started digging the foundations, there would still be some doubt that this factory will ever be built. The wave of anticipation and excitement more than a year ago when Siemens first said it liked the idea of a factory in Hull has been replaced with a more rational, realistic sense of hope, bordering on, don't say it too loud, slight scepticism.
Mr Chinn's speech was all about scale. He reminded us how big these wind turbines and blades are – think the height of Gherkin tower block in London and the diameter of the Olympic stadium. He told us about the massive infrastructure, onshore and offshore, that needs to be in place to construct and service these wind farms – there's just one ship in the world that can lift some of the pieces. And he told us Siemens is about creating industries, not single factories.
And there in an impressive series of slides showing giant pieces of Siemens steel being bolted together was the hidden message. You don't make this stuff – the turbines, the factories, the industries, the careers – in a few months. You certainly don't do it as a gamble. You do it when you know someone's going to buy the stuff at the end of it all. And that's why Siemens makes profits in the billions. It backs winners.
For Hull, the stakes look good. But it's not an odds-on winner and it's a heck of a long race.
11 Comments
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by hugostiglitz
Monday, January 28 2013, 9:35PM
“It's now a political issue, if this doesn't go through everyone can just blame the government.”
by hugostiglitz
Monday, January 28 2013, 7:11PM
“This is all still a maybe as far as I can see, the fact that they haven't given an affirmative answer suggests they haven't fully made uptheir minds.”
by KirstyandPhil
Monday, January 28 2013, 6:39PM
“by PatrickNewman
Yes I read that article earlier from top to toe and, right away my thought was "here we go"!? I am afraid you'll have to excuse me; I surrender!! ;-)
by Jezhull
"...and as Hull is such a depressed backwater, they'll receive all kinds of financial incentives to come here"
Hmmm I've not latched onto that observation/argument before now!? Hope you are right on all counts AND I am wrong! As I keep saying; personally it cannot come soon enough! Well alongwith HOPEFULLY the knock on of a much needed boost to get the local property market moving! Only time will tell!”
by jezhull
Monday, January 28 2013, 5:47PM
“KirstyandPhil, Siemens don't have any particular allegiance to Hull, or anywhere sales for that matter. Hull is well and truly in the frame because of it's location at the mouth of the Humber, the gateway to Europe as Siemens see it, and as Hull is such a depressed backwater, they'll receive all kinds of financial incentives to come here”
by PatrickNewman
Monday, January 28 2013, 5:35PM
“KirstyandPhil: Excellent a contribution without mentioning that cuddly, lovable old rogue JP. OMG now I have caught the malady.
PS I dont make conributions to support the Labour Party (especially New Labour) so some one else will have rise to your challenge. For evidence of the attack on public services see HDM on cancer patients being turned away because of bed blockers.”
by KirstyandPhil
Monday, January 28 2013, 5:13PM
“Explain to us what is so different to the spending cuts and cuts in public services that Liebour had planned!
Again PLEASE save us from any more of your misguided, blinkered lefty scaremongering claptrap! Indeed the absolute utter claptrap on both counts.”
by PatrickNewman
Monday, January 28 2013, 2:27PM
“KirstyandPhil: Do you need help in dealing with your Prescott OCD? Alternatively perhaps therapy is best performed by helping the many others who cant focus on issues beyond ranting about a museum piece politician. You should form a self help group called prescottphobia anonymous. Meanwhile widespread destruction of public services by this back-to-the-poor-law-government goes unremarked on.”
by KirstyandPhil
Monday, January 28 2013, 1:34PM
“PatrickNewman
ROFL I wondered when that oh so predictable, typically opportunist and desperate anti Tory stunt was going to be pulled out of the hat! But you Labourites never fail to disappoint or amuse!
Pray tell what exactly have Labour, nationally or locally achieved in all the years?! Even after Scunthorpe's Labour mafiose banging on for well over 4 years and hyping up all things Able UK; South Humber Gateway; Marine Energy Park; 25000 jobs .....blah blah. What became of Labours efforts and hyped up sham pledges there for the south bank.....absolutely nothing!!
Even after all the local bleating and lobbying during 13 years of the Neu Liebour Govt; it took a Coalition Govt to finally sort out the Humber bridge debt and to halve the tolls! So PLEASE save us from your oh so predictable, opportunist Liebour claptrap and point scoring!!
AND in response to your main challenge.
If only Hull had cottoned on long ago and not given undue succour and endorsement to left wing political dinosaurs, bruisers and incompetents who have self evidently failed Hull and the wider Humberside region.
Yes the likes of Prescott - and the rest of his champagne socialist entourage of courtiers and minders - who were given free rein to blag and milk their way through the system and who are and should be derided, locally and further afield.
If only Humberside hadn't been allowed to flounder at the bottom of the economic, education, skills and social degeneration pile and every performance league table going.
If only Humberside had attracted and could attract the much needed influx of business, talent, calibre and integrity to have regenerated and revitalised its economic/industrial base.
Then the local economy and property market would perhaps still give us the freedoms and choices that we have hitherto had AND furthermore, the opportunities to relocate and move on to pastures new and leave Humberside behind! Problem solved!!”
by PatrickNewman
Monday, January 28 2013, 11:53AM
“KirstyandPhil when are you going to release yourself (selves?) from you obsession with JP and provide the readers with some intelligent (well, I mean amusing) comment. If Siemens does not come to Hull or even UK it will be in no small part due to the Tory turbine sceptic environment minister aided by the utterances of the political hostage, AKA Cameron, on pulling out of the EU.”
by KirstyandPhil
Monday, January 28 2013, 9:50AM
“It has to be absolutely staggerring that on THE SAME DAY that Hull's city fathers were imbibing at the last chance saloon and on their bended knees in their big sell to Siemens!
Presumably in the process, having to do their damnest to further convince and buy over Siemens by shaking off Hull's and Humberside's image and reputation from its recent past!!
YET on the self same day the city's fathers and its University's doyens decided to award Hull's renowned, discreditable buffoon with a 2nd Honorary Doctorate in Economics??!! Only this time, not history, but with Science thrown in!!??
After the £billions of public money wasted on Prescotts useless fiascos -Pathfinder, FiReControl, M4 bus lane and on and on - and indeed on keeping Prescott in the lap of luxury! And for certain sycophantic, misguided Hullensians to then utter Economics, Science and Prescott in the same breath!!
No offence, but how the likes of Siemens can give any credibility to and take Hull and its movers and shakers seriously is totally beyond me!!”