Italian cabling giant Prysmian has established a long-term partnership with Port of Middlesbrough, its northern European marine base, as part of its growth plans, expected to create new jobs in the region.
Prysmian, which has been a tenant at Port of Middlesbrough for several years, has signed a ten-year agreement with the port’s owner and operator AV Dawson, said to be in preparation for its future growth.
“This new agreement is hugely positive news, not only for Teesside but for the whole of Northeast England’s offshore wind sector. It really puts Port of Middlesbrough and the wider region on the map,” said Charlie Nettle, AV Dawson’s group Managing Director. “The region has become a hot spot for offshore wind, and it will only get busier as businesses, and the world, continues on the journey to net-zero.”
The Italian company first started using Port of Middlesbrough ten years ago when operations on site were little more than a container or two of equipment being held in storage. Over the years, as the offshore wind industry developed and Prysmian secured more contracts, Port of Middlesbrough, located on the River Tees in North East England, became its northern European marine base.
With further growth anticipated, Prysmian has secured additional warehousing and office space at the port as part of the new partnership deal, set to support further expansion, accommodating new teams and new jobs in the region.
To support Prysmian’s ambitions, AV Dawson said it had put significant investment into the port and quayside facilities so it could accommodate the company’s new vessels, adding that Prysmian and some other customers are enquiring about shore power to support their net-zero ambitions, so that is the next significant investment for the port.
“We were really excited to prepare for the arrival of the Leonardo Da Vinci (LDV). She is the largest cable-laying vessel of her type, in the world, so we needed to ensure we had the capacity on our berths to accommodate her. This involved dredging wider berth pockets as the LDV is five metres wider than any of our other customers’ vessels. Thankfully, the Monna Lisa is the sister ship to the LDV, so the dimensions of the vessel are the same,” Nettle said.
“Having a base in Northeast England is imperative to the success of the many projects we are delivering right now and the ones we can see coming down the pipeline,” said Peter Watson, responsible for the overall management of Prysmian’s marine base.
“Port of Middlesbrough is strategically positioned, has well-connected transport links and offers state-of-the-art facilities, making it an ideal place to expand our current operations. However, our decision to be here is as much about the working relationship we have. Everyone knows what we’re trying to achieve and just works brilliantly together to make it happen.”