Inter-array cables factory in Eemshaven officially opened

TKH's new factory in Eemshaven for the production of offshore windfarm cables was officially opened today. This was done by Henk Jan Bolding, Mayor of Het Hogeland and Alexander van der Lof, CEO of TKH Group, accompanied by the next generation. With an investment of €150 million, this state-of-the-art production facility is an important milestone for TKH, symbolizing the company's growth ambition and innovation drive, but also its commitment to contributing to the future of sustainable energy. The factory focuses specifically on the production of inter-array offshore cables, which interconnect the wind turbines of offshore wind farms.

With construction starting in September 2022 and the start of production in March this year, the official opening was a moment to celebrate the dedication and hard work of all employees and partners involved.

TKH built this high-tech factory on the site at the Beatrixhaven in Eemshaven in a short time to meet the rapidly increasing demand for transport capacity in the offshore wind industry and to guarantee the urgent need for network reliability.

Impressive factory with unique advantages
The factory, with an area of ​​24,000 square meters, has a production capacity of 1,200 kilometers of sea cable per year and is built on a site of 7 hectares. The facility is equipped with the latest technologies and innovations. This produces a unique, robust and durable cable design, without the use of traditional materials lead and bitumen, that enables TKF customers to install more sustainably, more efficiently and with less risk.

In addition, the factory has an impressive location on the heavy loading 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 offshore 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: “TKH is not an average cable supplier and is therefore a unique player in the market, with a high degree of innovation. Various innovative techniques have been applied in this new factory and I am proud to say that we have the most innovative factory for inter-array cables globally located here in the Netherlands. We are always looking for differentiation through technical innovations. The changing demand from our customers for integrated systems requires us to integrate 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 possibilities that this offers for our customers, as presented today with demos in the Eemshaven.”

Laurens Pots, Director R&D at TKF: “We have a unique cable design in the market, a so-called dry design, which provides enormous efficiency gains and cost savings for our customers. This factory was built using this unique design as a basis. In addition, the cable design specifically takes into account the use of sustainable materials to limit the impact on the vulnerable underwater environment as much as possible.”

Substantive program and memorable opening
The factory was officially opened today in the presence of employees, customers, construction partners, suppliers and the mayor of Het Hogeland. In total, more than 250 guests attended the official opening ceremony.

With the opening of this new factory in Eemshaven and a dedicated factory for medium and high-voltage cables in Lochem, TKH is ready for significant capacity expansions in the energy cable infrastructure in the coming years.

Haaksbergen, September 19, 2024