Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH (ILG), a Salzgitter AG subsidiary, has received an order from Erndtebrücker Eisenwerk GmbH & Co. KG (EEW) for around 10,000 metric tons of heavy plate for jackets for the "Wikinger" offshore wind project.

Jackets are a special type of foundation for offshore plants and consist of a truss construction made of steel pipes, making them especially suitable for use in deep water.

With this assignment as supplier of heavy steel plates for monopiles, transition pieces and jackets, ILG has again proven its capability and further expanded its already strong position in the market. The annual shipping volume for the wind industry stands at around 200,000 metric tons of heavy plate.

The "Wikinger" wind park is located in the Baltic Sea, around 30 km off the coast of the island of Rügen. This represents the first offshore wind energy project in Germany for IBERDROLA Renovables, a global power plant planner and operator in the field of renewable energies. The park will cover an area of 32 km² in water between 37 and 43 meters deep and involves capital expenditures of some 1.4 billion euro. This project is equipped with 70 Areva turbines, each with 5-megawatt output.
When completed, the Wikinger wind park will supply electricity for around 350,000 households and create more than 100 direct and indirect jobs. The installation of the turbines will commence early in 2017.

Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH is a subsidiary of Salzgitter AG, which is one of Europe's leading steel technology groups with some 200 subsidiaries and affiliated companies and around 25,000 employees. ILG has 800 employees in Ilsenburg and Salzgitter, Germany, and produces quarto plate for a very wide range of application areas and locations. Each year, ILG supplies around 800,000 metric tons of heavy plate in some 350 steel grades to customers all over the world.

The EEW Group is an internationally leading manufacturer of longitudinally welded steel pipes for the oil, gas and offshore wind industries. The family-run company was founded in 1936. Headquartered in in Erndtebrück, Germany, the EEW Group employs around 2,000 members of staff around the world. With eight production plants, four in Germany and one each in Great Britain, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, the EEW Group has an annual production capacity exceeding 800,000 metrics tons of steel pipes.

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