The company was founded in 1898. In 1928, the company began producing metal windows for industrial buildings. In 1932, the company became a joint-stock company.
In 1945, Vestas Wind Systems A/S (Vestas for short) started producing household metal products: mixers, containers, etc. Since 1950, the company has been producing agricultural machinery. In 1960, the company had 120 employees.
In the 1970s, the company faced marketing difficulties due to oil shocks. In 1978, Vestas specialists began developing a wind turbine.
The company installed its first wind turbine in 1979. In 1980, Vestas began mass production of 55 kW turbines. In 1983, a subsidiary of the company was opened in the USA, Vestas North America, Ltd. By the end of 1985, Vestas had sold 2,500 turbines in the USA.
At the end of 1986, Vestas Wind Systems A/S was founded.
In November 1991, the company built its 1000th turbine in Denmark.
1994 – the company has 765 employees.
1995 – The company builds an offshore wind turbine. Throughout 1996, the company produced wind turbines with a total capacity of 303 MW.
In 2000, Vestas had a 32% share of the global wind turbine market. That year, the company sold 1,434 MW of wind turbines, out of a global market of 4,500 MW.
2002 – Vestas installs a prototype of its 3 MW turbine.
2003 – Vestas' share of the global wind turbine market is 23%.
In 2009, the company's global market share was 12.5%.
In June 2010, the company began developing foundations for offshore wind turbines to be built in offshore areas up to 70 meters deep.
In 2010, the company ranked first in the world in terms of total capacity of equipment produced per year – 5842 MW.
In 2011, the company revealed details of the 7.0 MW V-164 offshore turbine, which was later re-rated to a nominal power of 8 MW.
In 2017, Vestas installed a 9.5 MW, 187-meter wind turbine off the coast of Great Britain, which is currently the most powerful wind turbine in the world.