Sif starts producing foundations for Japanese, French offshore wind farms

Dutch foundation manufacturer Sif has started the production of monopile foundations for the Akita-Noshiro and Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farms in Japan and France, respectively.

According to the company’s latest trading update, the production started during the first quarter of 2020, when Sif also delivered monopiles and transition pieces to the Triton Knoll and Borssele 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 projects.

Sif signed a final contract with Kajima Corporation for the Akita-Noshiro project at the beginning of March. Under the contract, the company is in charge of manufacturing 33 monopile foundations, including 33 transition pieces, which together make 25 KTon of steel.

For the French Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm, Sif received the order in December 2019. The order was placed by Eiffage Métal for 80 monopiles and the primary steel for 80 transition pieces.

In the first quarter of this year, Sif’s throughput stood at 35 Kton and mainly consisted of the Borssele 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and Triton Knoll projects, according to information in the company’s trading update.

“The throughput of 35 Kton reflects both the effects the set-up activities for these projects and the impact the COVID 19 outbreak had on our production process during the last month of the quarter”, said Fred van Beers, Sif’s CEO.

Sif’s order book for the remainder of the year stands at approximately 135 Kton. The company expects that this is where it will stay and assumes that its production level for the full year will be 170 Kton, due to current worldwide circumstances.

“The COVID-19 impact and the expected production tonnage of 170 Kton will result in EBITDA for 2020, which is at the level we realized in 2019”, Van Beers said. “We have not seen a material impact from COVID 19 on offshore wind market tenders and are happy to see that projected activities beyond 2020 are materializing in our orderbook.”