Wind power boosts Dillinger’s plate orders amid virus slump

German plate maker Dillinger is supplying 47,000 mt of plate to the Arcadis Ost offshore wind energy project, parent company Stahl-Holding Saar said July 3.

Dillinger will be providing heavy plates for the production of monopiles for the wind farm, off the coast of the German state of Lower Saxony. Production will start in 2021.

The project is a joint undertaking between Dillinger subsidiary Steelwind Nordenham, a monopile manufacturer, and Parkwind, a developer of offshore wind farms.

“We believe the signing of this agreement sends a strong positive message in the difficult context of COVID-19. The impact of this contract fits into EU’s Green Deal initiative and demonstrates the offshore industry’s role in helping Germany reach its ambitious CO2 reduction targets as well as in stimulating the economy and local employment under the particularly difficult conditions of COVID-19,” Arcadis Ost 1 project manager, Clément Helbig de Balzac from Parkwind, said.

The supply deal for Dillinger comes at a time when the pandemic has dealt a hammer blow to European plate demand.

Most German plate mills are currently working at reduced rate, with workers on short-time, where the German government gives financial aid to companies as they run limited shifts.

“If the market does not come back to life and investments are not going to be unlocked, then it [the situation] is going to become critical for a lot [of plate mills]. It is possible that a lot of integrated mills will not be able to cope in the long term with current raw material costs and today’s market environment. Few inquiries, even fewer orders,” a German plate mill source said.

— Laura Varriale