Fastening families & communities together
At Cooper&Turner Beck we have always been at the forefront of the wind energy transition, not only from a producing and distributing safety critical fasteners standpoint, but also in the local communities in which we operate and supply.
We have helped fasten together some of the largest and most challenging wind farms in the world, but we have also helped fasten together some of those wind farms that are most needed by their local communities.
Vestas, is working alongside local communities in Thailand to provide a 45MW wind farm bringing the first source of electricity to local villages. For generations the young had been forced to leave their families and travel to the cities in search of employment and better life. Now with electricity and the wind farm in the region, these have allowed some to return home to their families and start-up small businesses serving the local communities and the wind farm is providing career opportunities never before available.
Siemens Gamesa is also driving real change in the local communities and improving their lives in the location the company is present. At school near its blade plant in Morocco lack of water was not readily available relying only on a polluted well. Children didn’t want to come to the school. Siemens Gamesa installed clean drinking water supply and sanitary facilities to ensure the rural school was safer now they had access to clean water. Now the children want to come to school.
In India, near to GE’s factory, GE brought the first source of electricity to a local community dependent on expensive and polluting kerosene lamps, exposing the families exposed to these toxic fumes. With poor kerosene lighting it is difficult to imagine how these students could study, how families could cook and come together for dinner without light. Engulfed in darkness it also exposed them to snakes, insects, theft and even worse crimes. Now with light in the homes and on the street, the communities are once again coming back together to cook and eat. Children can better study, improving their educational success and their futures, and the village is safer for everyone.
At Cooper and Turner Beck “we are fastened together by the determination to support and inspire the local community in which our fasteners are manufactured, distributed and installed” said Barry Piper, GM Asia. “We continue to pursue a purpose beyond just the manufacture and distribution of critical fastener solutions, we also look at how this fits into a providing future generations a better life.”
Working alongside our local communities we are part of the social framework committed to providing local jobs, training and education. But there are hidden benefits of our presence including for example our partnership with Shanghai University in China supporting development to raise the industries technology and scientific standards and promoting their use and other actions respectful to our environment.
This year we are creating community action programs and projects to be carried out directly by our people aimed at creating wellbeing and fastening together the community’s institutions, networks and groups. We will keep you updated on these social initiatives.