North East offshore engineering firm Tekmar has landed a contract to provide its cable protection systems to a major North Sea wind farm.
The Darlington-based firm told investors that it will design, manufacture and supply 172 cable protection systems for DEME Offshore. It follows an existing contract with DEME contractor EPCI to supply 380 of the systems to protect subsea array cables at the Dogger Bank A and B phases - part of what will become the world's largest offshore wind farm.
Combined, it represents Tekmar's largest contract to date for the systems which protect power cables that may be exposed or buried beneath the seabed and must withstand "challenging conditions". Manufacturing will take place at the firm's North East headquarters which it says is less than 50km from where the Dogger Bank export cables make landfall on Teesside.
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Tekmar expects to deliver the first systems for Dogger Bank C in the third quarter of 2024, and production will continue into 2025. The contract will use capabilities from the full Tekmar group of companies including Subsea Innovation, AgileTek Engineering and Ryder Geotechnical.
Alasdair MacDonald, CEO of Tekmar Group, said: "We are delighted to receive the award for Dogger Bank C which reflects the hard work of the team and collaboration with DEME on the Dogger Bank project to date. It is testament to our in-house engineering capabilities, which enable us to present solutions to customers' complex engineering challenges and optimise and de-risk projects. We look forward to continuing to work closely with DEME Offshore to deliver this project."
The work comes amid Tekmar's hunt for a suitor which has been underway since an announcement in June. Last month the firm said it was considering an offer from a global energy sector investor who had been given a 60-day exclusivity period to perform due diligence.
The listed company is seeking a buyer to help it turnaround a loss-making position and execute growth plans, for which it needs significant capital investment. News of the potential deal followed an update that several interested parties had made offers for the business.
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