Fabweld Steel Products is making
moves to capitalise on the lucrative offshore wind sector, believed to
be worth up to £15 billion in the UK alone.
Best
known for its innovative access covers for road, rail and major infrastructure
projects, FSP has already this year made moves in to the biomass sector
and now, thanks to two grants totalling in excess of £5,000, it plans to
enter the off shore wind sector.
The grants have been awarded
by the GROW:OffshoreWind service, which is supported by the Government’s
Regional Growth Fund and delivered by industry experts from the Manufacturing
Advisory Service (MAS), RenewableUK, Grant Thornton and the Advanced Manufacturing
Research Centre.
The grants will be used by Fabweld
to further develop its management systems and staff training programmes,
as well as diversifying its welding procedures to meet the bespoke needs
of offshore wind providers. It is anticipated that two new jobs could be
created as a result.
Work on the firm’s management
systems is already underway, in partnership with Mercia QA Ltd, and for
one of the standards (BS EN1090), it has been necessary for Fabweld to
have a designated Responsible Welding Coordinator (RWC) in place. As a
result, existing employee Craig Williams has been specifically trained
up, by Weld Qual Ltd, and now holds full certification in this area.
The UK is seen as a global leader
in offshore wind and has as much capacity already installed as the rest
of the world combined. With further growth in the area anticipated, grant
funding has been made available to ensure specialist firms like Fabweld,
are best equipped to take advantage of the opportunities on offer
Speaking on receipt of the grants,
Richard Hilton, Managing Director of Fabweld Steel Products, said: “It
is easy to assume that those working in the steel industry are a mile away
from anything with green credentials, but as we have demonstrated already
this year we have a very real and significant role to play in this area.
“The offshore wind sector
is particularly strong here in the UK and we knew that if we were to have
a realistic chance of gaining customers in this space, we’d need the very
best management systems, training and procedures in place. The grants that
we’ve received from the GROW:OffshoreWind programme will make a considerable
impact on our ability to achieve this.”
Head of GROW:OffshoreWind Dominic
Brown added: "With somewhere in the region of 40 new offshore wind
projects currently being planned in waters off the UK, there is a huge
opportunity for manufacturers in the West Midlands to become part of the
supply chain that will realise these projects.
“Fabweld Steel Products
demonstrated that it is in a strong position to diversify its offering,
expand its business and successfully enter the buoyant offshore wind market.
We wish the Fabweld team all the best as they make further progress in
this mission.”