Tata Steel is investing £2 million in its Hartlepool tube works and has forged a supply deal with German steel tube producer Eisenbau Krämer (EBK) to increase its product and service offering to the offshore renewable energy sector.
Growing activity in the renewables sector will require large volumes of jacket fabrications for wind tower structures. The Hartlepool development will establish a central supply base for steel tubular sections to be used in the fabrication of wind turbine steel foundation structures, known as jacket foundations. Work on the site is scheduled to begin in October and to be complete by Spring next year.
Components will be manufactured from tubulars at the new facility and prepared for welding into the finished structures, shortening throughput times and improving cost efficiency for customers, who will be able to source all steel components from a single supplier. Preparation work will include cutting-to-length, welding, shot-blasting, coating and end-profiling. Materials will then be stored for shipment in kit form to fabricators in the UK and mainland Europe using local deepwater ports and the UK rail network.
Ramsay Ross, a Director for tubes at Tata Steel, said: “This investment reinforces Tata Steel’s commitment to establishing a significant presence as a supplier to the renewables sector as the drive to transform the energy supply scene in the EU gathers pace.
“The wind tower hub in Scunthorpe, which was launched last year to process and distribute steel plate for fabricators, was a key step in this strategy. This separate development, in which we will be modifying buildings and investing in new assets at Hartlepool, is the next stage.”
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