Hunt for UK site for 300 – job Factory By the Sea for UK 2050 offshore wind goal

ECHNOLOGY FIRM HUNTS UK FREEPORT SITE FOR WIND ENERGY SUBSEA CABLE 

‘FACTORY BY THE SEA’  

Anglesey in the running – creating up to 300 jobs

A new offshore ‘factory by the sea’ project that is set to overcome road and rail transportation limitations for offshore wind power mega-cables is in advanced negotiations to secure the right Freeport location.

Independent British cable manufacturer Tratos, which has a history of subsea cable innovation at home and globally, will create up to 300 new jobs with the arrival of its new factory.

The factory by the sea project was conceived to remove barriers posed by road and rail weight and size restrictions, allowing it to produce huge subsea cables in the much longer lengths required – and transporting them directly by sea.

The company’s new factory will bring with it a significant boost to the local economy.  It has already won strong support from Virginia Crosbie, MP for Ynys Môn, for the facility to be sited in Anglesey, Wales, after she was briefed about this project by Tratos senior team.

Building the factory at Anglesey island would not only fulfil the UK’s increasing demand for export and array cables of any length for the next 30 years, but would also export to the EU globally.

Ms Crosbie welcomed Tratos’s interest in investing in Anglesey, adding that she was confident that this was exactly the type of forward-thinking company the local community wants on the island – and with it high-quality jobs the island must have if the young are to stay.

Tratos UK Ltd, 2019 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise: Innovation winner, says the offshore wind market will play a crucial role in securing the green energy the world needs for a sustainable future. Since 2015 Tratos has invested in developing its factory by the sea project.  It is now crucial for the UK government to deliver on its net zero emissions goals by 2050.

Offshore wind is a big UK industry and having a facility making array and export cables would put Britain right at the centre of this expanding success story.   The UK is currently market leader but will have to fight hard to maintain its lead.  The factory by the sea is one of the elements that would serve to secure that position. In supporting the plan Ms Crosbie said: “If we want companies to invest, we need to be attractive and that means Freeport status for Holyhead”.

BACKGROUND NOTES:

Since it began in 1966, Tratos’ mission has been to create jobs in most deprived areas and with it, to reduce poverty, bring prosperity and hope for a brighter and sustainable future for this and new generations. By creating jobs in most deprived areas, Tratos is continuously supporting local communities.

Historically Tratos has won £20m of UK Government backing for a new factory in Knowsley, Merseyside.  The company chose Knowsley because it was hungry for jobs, had a deprived community that had seen its manufacturing heritage decline and had a history entwined with the cable industry.

The Knowsley factory was more than simply a state-of-the-art facility for advanced technology cable production and a source of much-needed employment, it was conceived as a working ‘scale model’ of the factory to come.  The factory by the sea – ten times larger than the Knowsley factory and aimed squarely at achieving wind energy world-leader ranking for the UK.  Knowsley, successful in its own right, was also the test-bed for something bigger.

Offshore renewable energy is the sector most in need of pioneering innovation.  Tratos’ new factory by the sea will produce array and export cables, both of which are in short supply and heavy demand for the offshore wind industry.

Tratos will create new or safeguard 250 or more direct jobs, creating a reliable source of income for local people and communities.

Tratos is serious about the environment and its impact on it.

The company is particularly interested in finding factory bases in areas where it will have a positive effect – bringing much needed work.

Delivery of the UK Government’s Build Back Greener initiative to make the UK world leader in clean wind energy and achieve net zero emissions by 2050 can only happen if the UK Government seizes the right opportunities and provides financial support to the offshore wind and other renewable energy industries.

Tratos’ factory by the sea solves all the problems and offers all the advantages.  It fully delivers the ambition for UK world leadership for green energy, job creation, export boosts, net zero emissions, a ‘clean’ supply chain and a sustainable and environmentally sensitive approach to manufacturing and maintenance, including recycling.