A great piece of work

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF HILLEBRAND.

“Last year, Van Oord, asked us to construct access platforms for the piling template they are using at the Saint-Brieuc ofshore wind farm project”, Frank Buijk, Project Manager at Hillebrand, says. He continues, “The 62 turbines for this wind farm will be installed on tripod jackets, and for drilling the pin piles needed to anchor the jackets, Van Oord is using a special drilling template.” In last year’s autumn, the installation of the pin piles came to a halt because of the weather conditions. Van Oord’s vessel Aeolus returned to port with its tools and equipment on board, including the template.

“The platforms enable easier access to the template, for example for maintenance”, Mr Buijk explains. Together with the platforms, we also constructed the necessary safety railings, staircases, and ladders. One can imagine that operating at sea is quite demanding, meaning the template was not totally intact after the frst pin piling campaign. That is why we took the opportunity to conduct the necessary maintenance works as well as small adjustments to the template during the installation of the access platforms. For this we not only used our steel construction skills as the template has various hydraulics to keep the template in the right position. Meanwhile, with the Aeolus being in port, we also were asked to take care of various repair and adjusting works on the vessel. That was quite challenging. Because of the COVID-19 restrictions, we had to take all kinds of measures to

be able to work on board, without getting too close to other people on board of the vessel.”

For Hillebrand, Van Oord is a returning customer and according to Mr Buijk more leading ofshore contractors value the company’s expertise. “I can say without exaggeration that the entire ofshore market knows where to fnd us”, he says. “Throughout the years, we have, next to Van Oord, successfully taken care of various projects for other leading contractors such as Boskalis, most recently for their Bokalift 1 and 2, Wagenborg, and Seaway 7, for whom we constructed TP grillages for the Oleg Strashnov for example. Customers like to get back to us because of the quality of our work. Also, they prefer the way we >>

Hillebrand received the order for the construction and installation of the platforms in October. After this, the company immediately started creating the workshop drawings and purchasing the required materials. In November, fabrication of the platforms commenced, which took the whole month. Hereafter, the platforms were transported in phases to an external coating company. In the meantime, the Aeolis arrived at Hillebrand and the template was unloaded from the vessel onto the quay, which enabled the preparative works on behalf of the installation. At the end of November, the frst platforms arrived from the coating company, meaning that the installation could start. Just before Christmas, the last platform was installed on the template. In the new year, the fnal welding of the main scope took place, as well as checking these wells. Until the departure of the Aeolis, Hillebrand executed ample additional works for Van Oord and its subcontractors.

operate. We always deliver on time, and for this we are not afraid to take an extra step and to show a fexible approach. On top of this, we are very open and honest. We always say what we do and we do what we say.”

Last year, the ofshore market was at a low, which has afected all activities for this market. However, this didn’t mean that the people of Hillebrand sat on their hands. On the contrary, they invested heavily in the expansion of their location in Vlissingen when they had the opportunity to buy the facilities of shipyard De Donge, which is located next to Hillebrand. Also, Hillebrand sold their facilities in Middelburg and moved everything over to Vlissingen. This way, they have all the facilities, expertise, and know-how concentrated at one location. “As we lacked sufcient deep sea mooring space for larger projects, we often had to make use of third-party quays. The acquisition of the former De Donge shipyard now enables us to receive the largest ofshore vessels and barges at our own quayside, which is much more efcient, and in the end also cheaper for our customers”, Mr Buijk elaborates.

Despite last year’s low in the industry, Mr Buijk is positive, not only because of the company’s expansion. “Accelerated by the war in Ukraine,” he says, “both the renewables and the oil & gas industry are now progressing again, which of course is a positive development for us. Also, we see growing demand from the decommissioning market. With our expertise and skills, backed-upped by the other subsidiaries of ASK Romein, we are very well capable of meeting the requests from this market as well. Decom contractors ask us to make all sorts of components, for example for the sea fastening of decommissioned jackets and platforms on board of the heavy lift vessels or barges.”

The renewables industry has given Hillebrand ample opportunities to create business and realise proft. With the market and society requiring companies to reduce their ecological footprint more and more, Hillebrand is also trying to contribute to a sustainable and renewable supply chain, although according to Mr Buijk this is not easy. “More and more of our customers are demanding sustainability eforts from their suppliers. Also, our license to operate requires our company to take steps to become more sustainable. As a steel construction company, we try to reduce our energy consumption wherever possible. Also, the use of higher-grade steel helps us to produce more energy-efciently. This type of steel is lighter and stronger. This way, less steel is necessary to get the same strength of a construction. Less steel means lower weights and lower weights lead to fuel saving of transport. Also, lighter constructions require thinner welds, which reduces our own energy consumption. With these types of indirect and direct measures, we help the supply chain become more environmentally friendly.”

For Hillebrand, the recent project for Van Oord was another excellent showcase. “The Saint-Brieuc ofshore wind farm is an important French renewables project, and Van Oord’s piling template is a newly designed state-of-the-art drilling template. Being able to contribute to this important and challenging project and helping improve the template has been very motivating for us. Once again, we have been able to add a great new piece of work to our track record, demonstrating what we are capable of”, Mr Buijk concludes.