Houlder’s pile lifting equipment has been de-mobilised following a successful rental agreement with GeoSea, DEME Group’s specialist in complex offshore marine construction projects. Houlder’s pile upending tool (pictured) was selected to install monopile foundations during the Horns Rev 3 windfarm installation project.  It has now successfully lifted and upended 49 6.5m diameter, 690t piles off the coast of Denmark without incident or downtime.

 

The tool’s remote-control hook-up and release system engages directly with the foundation pile’s flange. It eliminates the need for additional human intervention, lifting points and straps delivering key safety and efficiency improvements. Once completed, the Horns Rev 3 will generate 406.7MW which is equivalent to the annual consumption of 425,000 Danish households.

Houlder has been an independent design, engineering and equipment supplier for thirty years. Its marine equipment business, based in London and Tyneside, has more recently become a centre of mechanical, marine, electrical and controls engineering. The successful GeoSea, DEME Group contract sits alongside recent work for many other clients in the renewable energy sector.

Andy Lovell, Marine Equipment Commercial Director commented; “As a key member of the supply chain, Houlder’s Marine Equipment business is helping offshore wind clients across Europe with a range of issues. These include controlling large jackets and monopiles; designing seafastenings and deck storage for foundations, blades and nacelles and modelling optimised component logistics from factory gate to offshore installation. Houlder’s pile upending tool remains available for hire and can be adapted for specific applications and differing capacities by our in-house team of specialist engineers.”