NKT’s new cable extrusion tower reaches full height, becoming 57th tallest European structure

The new cable extrusion tower that Denmark’s power cable manufacturer and installation company NKT is building at its power cable factory in Karlskrona, Sweden, has reached its full height of 200 meters, becoming the second tallest tower in the Nordics.

This third extrusion tower at the Karlskrona factory is part of NKT’s larger investment program in its high-voltage power cable business, also entailing the NKT Eleonora cable-laying vessel (CLV), set to be operational from 2027, and capacity expansion in Cologne, Germany.

The Danish player started work this July for the tower which will be capable of producing power cables of up to 640 kV. As a result, NKT plans to hire around 500 new employees in Karlskrona by 2027.

The tower hit the 100-meter mark in mid-September.

“During construction, we received a delivery of concrete every hour, enabling the tower to grow by approximately 2.6 meters per day,” said Darren Fennell, Executive Vice President and Head of HV Solutions Karlskrona at NKT.

“This is the third tower at our facility, and the expansion results from the record-high order backlog we have received to strengthen and expand the global power grids. Our site in Karlskrona will become the world’s largest manufacturing site for offshore cables, and NKT plays a crucial role in electrifying large parts of the world.”

According to NKT, the tower is taller than many European landmarks, including Big Ben in London (96 meters) and the Leaning Tower of Pisa (56 meters), and ranks 57th among Europe’s tallest structures. It has a base of 23×23 meters.

The company recently reported that after Karlskrona it was also expanding its operations in Alingsås to boost the production capacity of high-voltage accessories.