MTL wins offshore wind fabrication project

The contract, which is MTL Group's largest export contract to date, will use all of the company's processing equipment, which includes large format hi-definition plasma and laser cutting, robotic tube cutting, automated robot welding and CNC machining. Dr Henry Shirman, managing director said "This is a major breakthrough for us in the European offshore wind market. In order to meet the high standards to the offshore sector, MTL Group has undergone the necessary audits to be accredited to supply offshore fabrications. Twenty-five MTL employees will work on the project at the group's manufacturing facility in Rotherham. Work is due to commence in July 2011, with the final delivery of boat landings to be delivered by March 2012. Specialising in batch fabrications with the ability to manufacture structures up to 400 tonnes in weight, MTL Group is one of the fastest growing project manufacturing specialists in the metals sector and is the UK's leading secondary steelwork supplier of boat landing systems, while it also supplies working platforms, plate beams and nodes. "MTL Group is a fine example of the engineering excellence that already exists here in the UK and I am delighted that our support has led to the company winning this lucrative contract," said Charles Hendry, Minister of State for Energy. "The government is committed to helping more British companies to follow MTL Group's lead. "I want the UK to be a leader in the development and demonstration of new technologies for the growing offshore wind sector, and I am keen to see the UK supply chain grow to support this." MTL Group has worked closely with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to increase the UK supply of secondary steelwork for the offshore wind sector. With DECC's support, MTL Group has invested in state-of-the-art machinery that meets the requirements of this growing sector.