Sif Begins SeaMade Construction Work

Dutch offshore foundations manufacturer Sif has begun work for the SeaMade offshore wind farm in Belgium, according to the company’s latest report.

Sif is responsible for producing the monopiles for the 487MW project and, in a joint venture with Smulders, for the manufacture of transition pieces.

The Dutch company said it plans to begin works for Borssele 1&2 from the third quarter of the year, while activities for Triton Knoll and Borssele 3&4 are in process.

SeaMade and Triton Knoll together constitute 130Kton of steel, or the equivalent of 148 monopiles and 58 transition pieces, Sif said.

“After ramping up in Q2, we will then be back on more normalized quarterly production levels of close to 60 Kton, to end the year with total production numbers of approximately 210 Kton or 272 monopiles and 150 transition pieces,” said Fred van Beers, Sif’s CEO.

In the first quarter of the year, Sif reported a total throughput of circa 42Kton steel, 92% for offshore wind and 8% for offshore oil & gas, which is 4Kton more than in Q4 2018.

The company reported a contribution amounting to EUR 18.8 million, a boost from EUR 17.3 million in Q4 2018, and an EBITDA of EUR 4.1 million, up from EUR 0.3 million in the fourth quarter of last year.

Sif anticipates an order book of approximately 210Kton for 2019 and 155Kton for 2020 and beyond. In addition, the construction of its coating facilities is expected to be completed in July.

“Investments in coating facilities are on schedule for completion in July 2019, as is the buildup of our workforce. To deliver the estimated production volumes, we will partially lift the option to work 24 hours, seven days a week, at some production points, between the end of Q2 2019 and the end of the year,” said Van Beers.