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Winning business New orders and contracts
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New contracts and orders in industry
Poland’s PGNiG signs Texas LNG contract
Poland’s Petroleum Mining and Gas Industry (PGNiG) has signed a 20-year deal to import two billion tonnes of liquid natural gas a year from Texas in the US, further strengthening the company’s gas resources.
The state-owned company will import its gas from a terminal in Jefferson County, Texas. The agreement was made with Port Arthur LNG, a subsidiary company of Sempra LNG & Midstream and Venture Global LNG. The LNG supplies will reach Poland by 2023.
Co-CEOs of Venture Global LNG, Mike Sabel and Bob Pender, commented that PGNiG will be collaborating with Venture Global’s current global partners Shell, Edison, Galp and BP in the Calcasieu Pass project.
According to the terms of the agreement, PGNiG is also permitted to resell the gas on international markets. Company director Piotr Woźniak hopes the contract “will allow further diversification of Polish gas resources.”
In addition to the above, the Baltic Pipe, which will supply Poland with 10 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually and ease its dependence on Russia’s Gazprom, is due to be completed soon. Visit: www.pgnig.pl
ABB wins $40 million order for eco-efficient substation
ABB has won an order of around $40 million from German transmission grid operator TransnetBW to upgrade a high-voltage substation in Obermooweiler, in the German state of BadenWuerttemberg. As an integral part of the upgrade, ABB will install the world’s first 380-kilovolt (kV) gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) which uses an environmentally friendly alternative gas mixture to the industry standard SF6.
Substations enable the efficient and reliable transmission and distribution of electricity. Within the substation, switchgear controls and protects the network from power outages and facilitates reliable electricity supply. Due to its unique physical properties, SF6 gas has been used extensively in the electrical industry for decades. It is however, a greenhouse gas and ABB has been working on alternative solutions. In 2015, ABB successfully commissioned a substation using the AirPlusTM switchgear technology for a 170-kV GIS substation in Zurich, based on the alternative gas mixture.
“With more than 30 years of technology partnership between ABB and TransnetBW, we are embarking on yet another innovation milestone,” said Claudio Facchin, President of ABB’s Power Grids division. “ABB’s eco-efficient GIS solution will lower environmental impact while strengthening the transmission grid.” Visit: www.abb.com
irish-spanish consortium to build new dublin airport runway
Dublin’s airport operator daa has awarded the contract for the construction of Dublin Airport’s new North Runway to a consortium comprising Ireland’s Roadbridge and Spain’s FCC Construccíon.
Described by daa chief executive as “the most important thing Ireland will build in a generation”, the runway will be 306m2 in length and comprise 6km of new internal airport roads. The terms of the contract also extend to the installation of new drainage and pollution controls, 7.5km of electrical cable and more than 2000 new runways and taxi lights. Construction will start in January 2019 with completion expected in early 2021.
According to daa, the runway spells good news for Ireland’s economy as it is expected to support the creation of 31,200 new jobs and €2.2 billion in additional economic activity by 2043. To maximise local employment opportunities in the project, the Roadbridge-FCC consortium will be working closely with Fingal-based development company Empower and daa to fill as many positions as possible from within the local community. Visit: www.fccco.com
uK’s aero engine manufacturer RollsRoyce has announced the signing of a Trent XWB engine and long-term TotalCare® service agreement with China eastern Airlines, involving the airline’s 20 Airbus A350-900 fleet and worth over CNY10 billion (over uS$1.4bn).
China eastern ordered 20 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft in 2016 to strengthen its widebody fleet for international routes and meet the needs of the fast-growing Chinese aviation market. Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines are already used in all China eastern Airlines’ 59 Airbus A330 aircraft in service.
Rolls-Royce also intends to secure a significant amount of business with a number of Chinese companies across different sectors, representing uK manufacturing on a global scale and demonstrating the importance of international trade – particularly significant for the country’s manufacturing sector given the continuing uncertainty around exactly how Brexit will impact both trade and domestic production. Visit: www.rolls-royce.com
WINNINGBUSINESS
Aerotech Czech to manufacture and test parts of Ariane 6 space rocket
Aerotech Czech, a manufacturer of rotationally symmetric and prismatic components from a wide range of materials, has been contracted by MT Aerospace to manufacture and test parts of the propulsion system of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket.
The Ariane 6 has been in development since 2014 and is set for its first launch in 2020. Designed to lift objects into space, the rocket will now have a Czech flag on its skull – one of 13 countries collaborating with the ESA on the project.
Aerotech project manager Aleš Homolka explains the company’s role in the project: “Regarding Ariane 5 we only worked on riveting small parts. However, now we have made a bit of a leap forward, being entrusted with the production of certain parts and the selection of suppliers. We are also responsible for the design, because when it is not possible to create the components we contact the design team and they accept our improvements.” Visit: www.aerotech-czech.cz
Castle Precision Engineering wins £80m Rolls-Royce order
Castle Precision Engineering, a Glasgow-based manufacturer of critical precision components, has signed a six-year contract worth £80m with Rolls-Royce through which it will supply cones, shafts, spacers and turbine seal plates for the Trent family of aero-engines.
Yan Tiefenbrun, managing director of Castle Precision, said: “To significantly grow our activity with Rolls-Royce, a giant in the global aerospace industry, is a privilege and a fantastic endorsement of the high-quality precision engineering work we deliver here in the UK.
John Fitchett, strategic purchasing executive at Rolls-Royce, said: “We are continuing to see increasing demand for our Trent engines worldwide and suppliers with the right skills and performance, such as Castle Precision, have an important part to play in supporting our growth story. We look forward to continuing to work with Castle Precision and building on a well-established relationship.” Visit: www.castleprecision.com
airbus wins £180 million satellite contract
Airbus Defence has landed a deal worth almost £180M from one of the world’s leading satellite operators, France’s Eutelsat, to develop communications for two state-of-the-art satellites.
Components and major parts for the two HOTBIRD next generation satellites will be manufactured in the UK before being sent to Toulouse for final assembly. They will deliver improved performances over the European and Middle-Eastern footprint, reinforced by a powerful European Superbeam.
The HOTBIRD fleet forms one of the largest broadcasting systems in Europe, broadcasting 1000 television channels to more than 135 million homes in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
The new spacecraft will be based on the Eurostar Neo platform, Airbus’s new geostationary telecommunications satellite standard design. Eurostar Neo combines increased payload capacity and more efficient power and thermal control systems with reduced production time and optimised costs.
The satellites combine electric power of 22 kW with a launch mass of only 4500kg, thanks to the EOR (Electric Orbit Raising) version of the Eurostar Neo platform.
Due to be launched in 2021, they will be the ninth and 10th high power all-electric Eurostar satellites, harnessing multiple electric propulsion thrusters for faster orbit raising and on-station manoeuvres. Visit: www.airbus.com
Scania to deliver record bus order to Bogotá
IN its largest gas bus delivery to date, Scania will supply 481 euro 6 gas buses for the renewal of Bogotá’s Transmilenio Bus Rapid Transit system.
Scania’s euro 6 gas buses represent a step forward in cleaner technology compared with the older-generation euro 2 and euro 3 buses currently running in Bogotá. When the new Scania gas buses come into operation, carbon emissions are expected to be up to 20 per cent lower while emissions of particulate matter will be two to three times lower. emissions of nitrogen oxide are four to five times lower than with the previous model euro 5 buses.
“We are very pleased with the outcome because this translates into significantly less pollution in Bogotá,” says Juan Carlos ocampo, Scania Colombia’s managing Director.
The 179 articulated Scania K320 IA 6x/2, (320 hp engines), buses have a capacity for 160 passengers and the 302 bi-articulated Scania F340 HA 8x2 (340 hp engines) have a capacity for 250 passengers. All buses will be bodybuilt by Busscar. Visit: www.scania.com