TKF (Twentsche Kabelfabriek) has officially opened their new factory for the production of inter-array subsea cables for offshore wind farms in Eemshaven last Thursday.
TKF has built this €150 million euro high-tech factory on a 7-hectare site at the Beatrixhaven in Eemshaven in a short period of time, in order to meet the rapidly increasing demand for transport capacity in the offshore wind energy industry and to ensure the urgent need for grid reliability.
With the first pile struck in September 2022 and production starting in March this year, this official opening was a moment to celebrate the dedication and hard work of all employees and partners involved. The opening was done by Henk Jan Bolding, Mayor of Het Hogeland and Alexander van der Lof, CEO of TKH Group, accompanied by the next generation.
Unique advantages
The plant, with an area of 24,000 square meters, has a production capacity of 1,200 kilometers of submarine cable per year. The facility is equipped with the latest technologies and innovations and capable to produce a unique, robust and durable cable design, without the use of the traditional materials lead and bitumen, that enables TKF’s customers to install more durable, efficient and with less risk.
In addition, the factory has an impressive location on the heavy cargo quay. By choosing this location, the factory is as close as possible to the open sea. This offers many advantages for the production and distribution of the inter-array submarine cables. The freed-up capacity in Lochem will be used to increase the production capacity of high- and medium-voltage cables.
Alexander van der Lof, CEO TKH Group: “TKF is not your average cable supplier and therefore a unique player in the market. As part of TKH Group, there is a high level of innovative strength. Various innovative techniques have been applied in this new factory, which makes me proud to say that we have the most innovative factory for inter-array submarine cable in the world in the Netherlands. We are always looking for differentiation through technical innovations. The changing demand from our customers for integrated systems requires us to have integration knowledge, adaptability and innovative technology. With the arrival of Artificial Intelligence, we see new opportunities to strengthen our solutions both within the connectivity activities and within the other divisions within TKH and to respond to new opportunities that this offers for our customers, as presented today in Eemshaven with demos.”
Laurens Pots, Director R&D at TKF: “We have a unique cable design in the market, a so-called dry design, which ensures an enormous increase in efficiency and cost savings for our customers. This factory was built with the design as a foundation. In addition, the cable design specifically takes into account the use of sustainable materials in order to limit the impact on the vulnerable underwater environment as much as possible.”
With the opening of this new factory in Eemshaven and a dedicated factory for medium and high voltage cables in Lochem, TKF is ready for the substantial capacity expansions in the energy cable infrastructure in the coming years. Source: TKF Images: Jlousberg
