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Winning business New contracts and orders in industry
NEWS
New contracts and orders in industry
Eiffage Wins Contract For Construction Of Lidl HQ In France
Eiffage Construction, a subsidiary of French civil engineering company Eiffage, has been awarded a €140 million contract for the construction of supermarket titan Lidl’s new headquarters in France.
The sprawling complex will cover an area of 40,000 square metres which will include a retail space of 3,000 square metres, an 860-capacity car park and green spaces.
Located within the LaVallée joint development zone in Paris’ Châtenay-Malabry commune, the Lidl HQ will be a workspace for 1,100 employees when completed in the second half of 2023.
The construction project is comprised of four blocks with a central five-storey building, with one seven-storey and two five-storey building laid out around it.
Various subsidiaries of Eiffage will be involved in the Lidl project, including Eiffage Énergie Systèmes, which will be responsible for all electrical and HVAC systems, and Goyer, which will install the facades. The joint development zone is managed by Eiffage Aménagement.
Ground is scheduled to be broken on the construction project this December.
visit: www.eiffageconstruction.com
Multi-Million-Pound Battery Partnership Enables Major Brands To Electrify Warehousing Operations
Hyperdrive Innovation, a designer and manufacturer of lithium-ion battery technology, has today announced a new multimillion-pound 4-year supply agreement with Moffett, part of Hiab and world-leading forklift truck manufacturer, to supply state-of-the-art battery packs for zero-emission machinery.
The supply agreement, worth more than £500,000 in the first year alone, will initially see hundreds of high-performance battery packs deployed in Moffett’s fully electric truckmounted forklifts. The partnership will instil clean, electric technology into the operational heart of hundreds of organisations worldwide, including well-known British brands Pets at Home and Topps Tiles.
Orders for the world’s first fully-electric Lithiumion powered truck-mounted forklift – the Moffett E-Series – have grown significantly since its release in 2013. With the support of Hyperdrive, Moffett aims to meet this increasing demand by growing its fully electric fleet six-fold by 2030 to around 30% of all vehicles produced.
Jann Hansen, Sales Director Moffett said: “Customer demand for cleaner, quieter and more sustainable equipment is growing like never before. Our partnership with Hyperdrive allows us to cater to this demand, without compromising the world-beating performance and trusted reliability expected from all our equipment. Going electric offers countless operational advantages for our customers and we’re excited to be leading the industry in this space.”
The near-silent drivetrains of Moffett’s electric forklifts allow operations to continue out of traditional working hours and enables night-time deliveries for Moffett’s customers – a significant advantage to operational efficiency. The lack of exhaust pollution also means that the same machinery can be used for both outdoor and indoor applications. This means drivers can unload and load delivery trucks and stock warehouses without switching between electric and diesel vehicles – ideal for warehousing and distribution settings.
There are also significant fuel and maintenance savings associated with Moffett’s fully electric forklifts, with total ownership costs for Moffett’s E-series approximately 20% lower than diesel equivalents. Diesel-powered forklift trucks typically produce more than 18 tonnes of carbon emissions per 1,500 hours of operation. Moffett estimates that its fully electric forklifts can achieve a carbon emission reduction of 75%, providing a significant boost to companies’ green credentials.
Steve Travis, Transport Manager at Pets at Home said: “Fully electric forklifts give us the potential to significantly improve our operating costs, while at the same time minimizing the environmental impact to neighbours of our stores.”
Hyperdrive’s modular battery packs were chosen due to their top of the range energy density and modularity, allowing flexibility and straightforward application in a number of different machines. This opens up the possibility of deploying fully electric equipment across a variety of different settings, including warehousing, distribution and logistics, materials handling, and construction.
The news comes just weeks after a European-wide report – which included views from experts from Wilmott Dixson, Innovate UK, Colas Group, and NCC – forecast rapid growth in demand for cleaner and quieter electrified equipment over the next decade to meet emission targets and ‘build back better’ following the COVID-19 pandemic. The construction industry is responsible for 40% of European carbon emissions, making it an urgent priority for decarbonisation to meet net-zero targets.
Stephen Irish, Commercial Director of Hyperdrive Innovation said: “Electrification will be central to the decarbonisation of heavy industry and it’s no surprise that demand for cleaner electrified equipment is booming. Our partnerships with forward-thinking companies such as Moffett will help meet the massively growing demand for electrified solutions and support the delivery of a more sustainable future.” visit: www.hyperdriveinnovation.com
WINNINGBUSINESS
Foresight Solar Buys 99MW Worth Of Energy Investments In Spain
Jersey-based investment firm Foresight Solar has reached an agreement to purchase three subsidy-free Spanish greenfield solar assets with a total throughput of 98.5MW of energy to add to their portfolio.
The UK firm admitted it expects the total transaction to cost in the range of €72 million once construction has been finalised. This total includes the cost of covering development rights, which were funded using revolving credit facilities.
Officials at Foresight said a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) will be signed with a major European energy provider for the greenfield assets, which are located in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia.
The company are also set to implement a ten-year rolling foreign currency hedging strategy covering future cash flows and to reduce fluctuation in currency exposure on returns.
The acquisitions will add to the UK firm’s current Spanish portfolio, resulting in the company managing a total of 200MW of solar farms within the country.
In total, Foresight manages a total of 58 assets across the UK, Australia and Spain with a total installed capacity of 994MW once fully operational. Its investments outside the UK will represent approximately 17% of the gross asset value of the company and its subsidiaries.
Alex Ohlsson, Chairman of Foresight Solar, said: “This acquisition builds on the Company’s recent first investment in Spain and represents a meaningful step forward for the Company’s international diversification and its increased presence in the subsidy-free solar market.
“The ability of the Investment Manager to secure such an attractive investment opportunity for Foresight Solar once again demonstrates the benefit of its significant regional presence across Europe. We look forward to updating investors on progress on the Spanish portfolio as major milestones are met in the coming year.” visit: www.fsfl.foresightgroup.eu
Serbia Signs MoU With French And Chinese Companies To Build Belgrade Metro
The Serbian government has signed a memorandum of understanding with France’s Alstom and Egis Rail as well as PowerChina for the construction of the Belgrade metro.
This comes nearly five months after Belgrade’s deputy mayor Goran Vesic’s announcement that construction on the metro would begin by December 2021 at the latest.
The project is estimated to cost around €4.4 million and will include two lines. The first line will extend for 22km and the second for 20km and both with integrate four urban lines.
Under the agreement, Alstom will provide the metro with trains, control schemes and platform screen doors for the first line of the system.
Alstom Central and Eastern Europe managing director Antonio Moreno said: “We are immensely proud that Alstom’s solutions will be part of the construction of the Belgrade metro, which is a very important infrastructure project in the Balkan region.
The integration of the metro has been designed to decrease congestion and offer commuters with a faster alternate means of travel. visit: www.alstom.com
British mining company Mineco is preparing to open its fourth lead-zinc mine in Serbia.
The Croydon-based metals company announced their intention to open another mine back in January, with the plan to begin construction of a lead, zinc and copper mine for “sometime in Q3 2020.”
The mine is located in Raska, in southwestern Serbia.
Mineco announced on Tuesday that it had acquired Serbian mining sector player Vavrina Resources, thus giving them the push they need to begin operations.
Vavrina owns the land the mine is located on, which it acquired during the liquidation of the former Suva Ruda mine.
The plots of land were sold to the Serbian company by Dutch-based lender ATB Bank, which they reportedly held as a part of a €25 million loan that was never repaid.
No financial details of the transaction were made public.
Mineco director Milan Popovic said: “The next steps concern obtaining the right to prospect on our land, and the sooner we resolve this, the sooner we will be able to contribute to the economic growth of Raska, by resuming the production of non-ferrous metal ore concentrate produced by the Suva Ruda mine.”
The company manage three other lead and zinc mines in the country: one near Bosilgrad in southern Serbia, one in Rudnik and another in Veliki Majdan.
Mineco is also active in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a lead and zinc mine in old antimony mine near Novo Gorazde and started production of a cerussite mine in 2017. Visit: www.minecogroup.com
