Located 23 km off the coast between the Dutch cities of Zandvoort and Noordwijk lies the 129MW Eneco wind farm. It generates clean electricity for nearly 150,000 households.
Van Oord, a global specialist in hydraulic engineering, coastal engineering and demanding sea transports, was given the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the wind farm.
To facilitate the delivery of materials, Van Oord used “Aeolus” a 140-metre-long transport and installation vessel built in Germany. The goal was to ensure the safe transport of all 129 rotor blades required for the wind turbines being built for the project. Each rotor blade was 50 metres long, heavy and oddly shaped, thereby posing unique securing and lashing challenges. In anticipation of the difficulty of transporting these rotor blades, Van Oord involved RUD early in the transport planning process, and set the following specific conditions and requirements:
The RUD team, together with Van Oord’s engineers developed a highly specific lashing solution for this demanding project. The engineering of the complete lashing system was carried out during a two-day visit by the Dutch team at the RUD Headquarters in Aalen, Germany.
At the centre of the solution was the RUD ICE Grade 120 lashing chains system using 10mm chains, tensioning elements and end lifting and shackle componentry.
A combination of this tried and tested ICE lashing chains system and UHMWPE ropes were utilised. This was done to address a specific issue resulting from the enormous clamping lengths of more than 20 metres. Any slack in the lashings was reduced to a minimum, with the smallest amount of effort possible.
The bottom two-metre-long end made use of the ICE system. The main handling - shortening and tightening - takes place at this part of the lashing, and the ICE system offers particular advantages here. As the 10-millimetre ICE system replaces a 13-millimetre system of the usual quality class 8 with the same LC, it is 40% lighter. The system's very precise shortening capabilities enabled by links in 30-millimetre steps reduced the time for pre-tensioning considerably compared to other solutions considered.
The long end was secured using UHMWPE ropes. These efficiently performed the task of transferring the retention forces securely and cost-effectively, with little weight and low stretching, leading to successful project execution.
We are happy to deal with RUD because of their product quality, customer service and competitive pricing. They are very efficient when submitting quotes with a short lead time and are always available when we need them.
Onsite support is excellent and always professional.
RUD Chains has a great product with an exceptional back-up and field service. We have previously bought from Chinese manufacturers and European companies, but we will stay with RUD due to the quality of the product and availability of service personnel.
Patterson Crane Hire loves a challenge and RUD lifting gear helps us solve these challenges. The weight saving gains when we use their Grade 120 ICE range really makes a difference and minimises our risk when we are managing difficult, heavy lifts.
Simply put, this is why we choose to work with quality suppliers like RUD.
At Holcim (Werribee) we rely on RUD Tyre Protection Chains. Their strong expertise and professionalism is on display when they fit and maintain our chains on site. The team works hard to keep us safe, enable our machines to stay in operation and minimise our costs.
Air & Allied Sales (Pacific) has partnered with RUD Chains for the past 25 years to deliver outstanding engineered solutions. The professional and continued relationship with Ian and his team allows us to continue to support our customers above and beyond their needs.
Our recent requirements have pushed the limits of a standard supplier’s capabilities, but RUD Chains have never...
As Managing Director of ACRAN, we are always excited to provide innovative and quality technical solutions to the market for industrial ventilation, filtration and noise control solutions.
Recently we completed a project where RUD chain drives provided a controlled drive solution for an Engineered lift and fulfilled the requirements. ACRAN is grateful for the technical and on-site...
At Gemilang, we’re confident that our high-quality Endurequip-made Portalifts and vehicle stands will continue to serve us well as we build more buses for the Australian market. These provide us unparalleled underbody access, thereby giving our clients the reassurance that every single bus component, from top to bottom, is designed, manufactured, secured and inspected thoroughly by our...
The team at Jilalan appreciate the quality service you provided in the design, fabrication and commissioning of our platforms for our Wagon remediation project.
RUD's attention to detail and great communications skills ensured that our project was completed to the highest standard and exceeded our expectations. From the start of the procurement process you committed to ensuring time...
Grima Recycling have been working the team at RUD in realising our plant expansion project. The modular RUD chain conveyor has proved to be reliable and effective for the transfer of our recycled products from the loader hopper and up the inclined slop as part of our new process line. The regular contact and support provided by RUD compliments the RUD system quality.
ENCO Precast have been involved with RUD for over 10 years now, predominantly for the supply of the Philipp Group Lifting Hoops for Prestressed Precast Concrete elements for bridges. The engineering support led by RUD's Engineering Manager Matt Pauli is always outstanding and has kept us loyal to RUD.
RUD’s service and product support have been excellent. We are happy to recommend RUD to anyone who has problems with their tyre life.
