"The Fehmarn Belt Tunnel is a huge prestige project and will be the longest of its kind in the world," begins Bjørn Thorsen, CEO at Ib Andresen Industri:
"The fact that we, as a supplier of steel-based solutions, have to contribute with our skills and services is something we are extremely proud of. It is a testament to our approach and commitment to the project.”
The agreement has been concluded with the consortium Femern Link Contractors, FLC, and amounts to a large three-digit million sum.
Ib Andresen Industri must deliver the support system that is part of and forms the basis for the construction and assembly of the rebar in the tunnel elements, which will form the future connection between Denmark and Germany.
"The order fits our setup very well, and we get the opportunity to bring our entire concept into play - not just processing the steel itself," explains Søren Eriksen, Sales Manager at Ib Andresen Industri:
"We have, among other things, added value to the project through dialogue about design optimization and implementation, our coil concept and our production setup. Here we talk about everything from splitting coils, sheet-metal processing, roll forming to welding".
"Then there are the logistics and our location in relation to Rødby, which is only a few hours' drive from Langeskov. We can therefore act quickly when the need arises."
"And last but not least, as a company we also have the financial strength to invest together with our business partners. We are investing in our welding setup, so that both capacity and capability are increased.”
The investment - welding setup
The investment in Ib Andresen Industri's welding setup involves acquiring 3 new welding robots. Poul S. Thomsen, Head of Supply Chain & Customer Support, talks about the investment:
"It's a huge order, where we have to cover approx. 800 welding meters per day when things get busy. We quickly realized that we couldn't execute it in our current setup.”
"Therefore, we are investing in 3 new welding robots, all of which are equipped with the latest programming software, which ensures a high degree of automation."
"At the same time, we have to employ more than 30 new colleagues who will ensure our future setup works smoothly from day one - day and night."
Processing, welding and delivery will take place over the next 4 years.
To better understand the scope, Ib Andresen Industri must deliver 711 segments, which together weigh approx. 30,000 tonnes.
You have to weld approx. 180,000 frames for the 711 segments. They are distributed among 79 standard tunnel elements.
A standard tunnel element is 217 meters long, 42 meters wide, 10 meters high and weighs 73,500 tonnes.
Photo / From left: Poul S. Thomsen (Head of Supply Chain & Customer Support), Søren Eriksen (Sales Manager) and Bjørn Thorsen (CEO)