Dutch offshore foundations manufacturer Sif expects to end 2017 with a record annual production of around 220 Kton following solid results in the third quarter of the fiscal year.
The company reported a throughput of 59 Kton in the third quarter of 2017, bringing the year-to-date production to 167 Kton, a 17.6% jump compared to 142 Kton throughput recorded in the first nine months of 2016.
90% of the throughput in the third quarter was related to offshore wind and included the delivery of monopiles and transition pieces for the Hohe See, and the Rentel offshore wind farm. The orderbook for the fourth quarter stands at 53 Kton.
However, the annual production results could still be 5% lower than the output forecast released with the company’s interim results earlier this year. The decrease in the forecast is due to a shift of production into 2018, the company said.
The company’s orderbook for 2018 stands at 122 Kton, and for 2019 and beyond at 60 Kton, which includes the recently awarded Triton Knoll contract, Sif said.
With the recent completion of the investment program at Maasvlakte in Rotterdam, Sif ramped up the annual maximum manufacturing capacity from 225 Kton to 300 Kton.
The increase in capacity has allowed the company to cater for growth in modern monopiles with diameters up to 11 meters and over 120 meters in height and benefit from the anticipated growth in offshore wind activities in the North Sea from 2019 onward.
”Our new production plant at Maasvlakte, is Europe’s premier manufacturing facility for major-scale offshore installations. After the successful start- up, both production lines are already running at maximum capacity (150 Kton pa),” Jan Bruggenthijs , CEO of Sif-group, said.
”While servicing clients and building strategic capacity, the management team has also focused on the sales challenge of 2018, next to our focus on efficiency improvement. Key areas of attention have been the start-up of the second production line in Rotterdam, upgrade of production capacity in Roermond or cans and cones and alignment between the Roermond and Rotterdam facilities.”