Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s largest port operator, and FibreMax, a world leader in Synthetic Tendon Solutions for the most demanding industrial and energy sector applications, have today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This agreement aims to explore development opportunities at ABP’s Port of Swansea and the emerging opportunity of Floating Offshore Wind (FLOW) sector in the region.
FibreMax, producers of the world’s strongest cable, is renowned for their innovative, patented parallel wound (PWT), which exhibits unparalleled strength, stiffness and resistance to fatigue and wear. This unique technology makes them ideal for the challenging conditions of floating offshore wind farms. With the Celtic Sea poised to become a major development site for green
energy generation from floating offshore wind (FLOW) turbines, the region will be a strong source of demand for the offshore wind supply chain. ABP’s Port of Swansea offers significant potential for the development of supply chain facilities immediately adjacent to the FLOW activities in the Celtic Sea.
Andy Reay, Head of Offshore Wind at ABP, said: “We are delighted to sign this MoU with FibreMax, a world leader in fibre cables. It marks a further tangible step forward in the transformational prospects for FLOW in the Celtic Sea. The Swansea Bay region presents an unparalleled opportunity for UK industry, sited in an area of rich industrial heritage, ideally suited to support upcoming Celtic Sea FLOW development.”
Sander van Helvoort, Director Renewable Energy at FibreMax, said FibreMax is the only company in the world which has the capability to deliver synthetic solutions for any floating wind technology, we therefore welcome this agreement and look forward to working together with ABP to investigate development opportunities at the Port of Swansea that will deliver best-in-class facilities and good quality jobs for the local community and develop local content for South Wales.”
The partnership aims to explore the possibility of creating up to 90 new full-time jobs via a new bespoke dockside facility. It will enable the production of future offshore renewable components with a Just-in-Time (JiT) supply chain solution working with Welsh partners.
The collaboration between ABP and FibreMax signifies a shared commitment to sustainable energy solutions and economic growth. More information will be released as the project progresses.
For more information please contact:
Hannah Kitcher
Regional Communications Manager (ABP)
Mob: 07843 977827
Email: hannah.kitcher@abports.co.uk
Sander van Helvoort
Director Renewable Energy (FibreMax)
Mob: +31 625 492 167
Email: sandervh@fibremax.nl
Tim Morris
Head of Corporate Communications (ABP)
Mob: 07850 501903
Email: tim.morris@abports.co.uk
About FibreMax www.fibremax.nl
Since 2004, FibreMax has been the producer of the world’s strongest synthetic cables. With its unique and patented production process, the so-called endless winding technology (“Endless Winding
Technology”), it produces lightweight pendants and tendons with the highest efficiency currently possible. The cables are custom-made for every customer application. Part of the FibreMax product portfolio are parallel wound tendons (“Parallel Wound Tendons”). Key features of FibreMax’ s synthetic cables include production with any fibre type. The company’s cables can be tailored based on strength (MBL) or stiffness (EA-S & EA-D). FibreMax services the worldwide market with its product portfolio.
About ABP Wales
ABP’s five Ports in South Wales, Barry, Cardiff, Port Talbot, Newport and Swansea contribute £1.5 billion to the UK economy every year, supporting 21,800 jobs across the UK.
- ABP’s Port of Cardiff handles around 1.8 million tonnes of cargo each year.
- The Port of Newport’s steel terminal provides over 30,000sqm of modern, covered storage
dedicated to steel import and export operations.
- Port Talbot supports steel production in South Wales and handles project and heavy lift
cargoes, steels and other metals, building aggregates and cargoes to support the offshore
energy sector.
- Swansea is the most westerly of ABP’s South Wales ports, with the capacity to handle
vessels of up to 30,000dwt and offers berths and facilities for most types of cargo.
- More than 14,000sqm of warehousing and extensive open storage facilities are available at the Port of Barry.
About ABP (www.abports.co.uk)
ABP is the UK’s leading ports group. We proudly serve our customers and our communities in the pursuit of our ambitious missions which are ‘Keeping Britain Trading’ and ‘Enabling the Energy Transition’. These are underpinned by a strong commitment to safety, sustainability and our people.
Our network of 21 ports handles ~ one quarter of the UK’s seaborne trade, and ~ £157 billion of UK trade annually. Our ports include Immingham, the UK’s largest port by tonnage, and Southampton, the nation’s number one export port, handling £40 billion of UK exports each year.
ABP is an essential partner for the Offshore Wind industry, providing Operations and Maintenance (O&M) for over 50% of the sector’s activity, as well as building infrastructure in facilities like Green Port Hull, a joint investment with SGRE, the largest Offshore Wind blade manufacturer, and LEEF (Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility).
ABP is delivering on its green ambitions through decarbonising its operations, supporting customers in building more sustainable supply chains, and investing in infrastructure to realise future renewable energy generation. Since 2014, it has reduced its CO2 emissions by over 38%.
ABP’s vast freehold bank and ports are ready to support the drive towards achieving the nation’s target of net zero emissions by 2050.
The group’s other activities include:
ABP Property: Property division, with an unrivalled land bank spanning 21 multi-modal locations around the country, and 960 hectares of port-based development land.
ABPmer: Marine and hydrographic company, with 60 years of experience, providing specialist marine environmental research and consultancy services.
UK Dredging: Port maintenance and dredging service.
Beacon Marina Collection: The Beacon Marina Collection is made up of three marinas owned and operated by ABP: Ipswich, Lowestoft and Fleetwood.
Our ports are: Ayr, Barrow, Barry, Cardiff, Fleetwood, Garston, Goole, Grimsby, Hull, Immingham, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Lowestoft, Newport, Plymouth, Port Talbot, Silloth, Southampton, Swansea, Teignmouth and Troon
