Off shore wind farm deal secured by firm
AWIDNES contractor has landed a major manufacturing and construction deal to work on a wind farm.
Hutchinson Engineering will now fabricate and assemble the suspended internal platforms (SIPs) for Hornsea Two in the North Sea following a competitive tender.
Each SIP weighs 10 tonnes and measures 12 metres in height, and will be suspended inside the foundations of the turbines.
A spokesman for the firm said that once complete, Hornsea Two will become the UK’s largest offshore wind farm with enough capacity to generate clean electricity for well over 1.3m homes.
The contract has awarded by EEW Group.
Heiko Mützelburg, EEW SPC chief executive, said: “We have found an English subcontractor, that we strongly believe will deliver the required quality.
“With Hutchinson as a local supplier on our side, we are looking forward to a prosperous co-operation in the future.
“We are convinced of a positive project progression”.
Established in 1979 servicing the petro-chemical industry, Hutchinson Engineering has expanded into the offshore wind sector, recently opening a purpose-built facility in Liverpool.
The spokesman said the contract reinforces Hutchinson’s position as the leading UK supplier of secondary steelwork for the offshore sector, been having already completed many previous projects, plus other continuing original equipment manufacturer (OEM) supply contracts.
Dean Drinkwater, Hutchinson managing director, said: “The award of this contract is a direct result of the hard work of the Hutchinson team, that has enabled us to be commercially competitive whilst meeting the high quality standards of the offshore industry.
“Our continued investment in people, plant and machinery has enabled us to implement production line style processes throughout our business, allowing us to compete in this rapidly growing global marketplace.”
Ørsted is constructing the renewable energy project and said it is committed to ensuring that competitive UK suppliers take advantage of the world-leading projects on their doorstep.
Peter Clusky, Ørsted senior supply chain development manager, said: “By working collaboratively with our tier one suppliers and local suppliers for the past 10 years, we have been able to provide opportunities for competitive UK suppliers.
He added: “Hutchinson’s successful award on this contract by EEW SPC will see UK secondary steel used in the UK fabricated transition pieces being delivered by EEW OSB on Teesside for the Hornsea 2 project.”
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