Strohm completes plant expansion to support energy transition
(WO) — Strohm, the world’s first and leading producer of Thermoplastic Composite Pipes (TCP), has completed its plant expansion in The Netherlands, as it sets out to accelerate growth and support the energy transition.
The expansion is the biggest capital investment the company has undertaken since originally setting up the facility in the port town of IJmuiden, near Amsterdam. With this investment, Strohm triples its capacity for production to 140km of normalized pipe per annum. This allows Strohm to better support existing and future contracts, with plans to increase the capacity even further after implementing current efficiency gains.
Following the expansion, the company’s plant boasts a production environment equipped with a dedicated production line for research and development; extrusion line for liner, coating, and weight coating materials; and two large production lines using state-of-the-art, composite tape winding and proprietary melt fusion technology.
Strohm has also increased its recruitment activity, most recently hiring more than 30 people in all departments throughout the company. Further plans for recruitment to support growth are also in place, as the company is aiming to hire more staff in operations, engineering, project management, business development and supporting roles.
Strohm’s operations director, Hubert Brinkhuis, said, “We are extremely pleased to launch our newly expanded facility in The Netherlands. With the design, installation, and commissioning of a new production line, including two new 300 tonne carousels installed by UK based Parkburn Precision Handling Systems, we can now produce heavier, longer, and stiffer products for the industry.
“We are proud that our expansion project has also supported the local economy, with numerous local businesses having been employed to complete the developments.”
Martin van Onna, Strohm’s CEO, added, “With the world’s energy security at the top of everyone’s agenda, and more than nine gigawatts of offshore green hydrogen projects recently being proposed for the North Sea basin alone, this expansion and the growth it will drive for Strohm are extremely timely.
With Strohm’s flexible, non-corrosive TCP technology providing a lightweight solution to energy projects around the world, this expansion, and the company’s planned growth objectives, will further support the industry in securing energy production stability.
