Barrett Steel Boosts Investment

Barrett Offshore Tubes, part of the Barrett Steel Group, has recently invested over £1m at its Scunthorpe site as part of the company's commitment to the renewable energy market, particularly the offshore wind turbine industry. The investment, which has resulted in the creation of six jobs, includes a 12 meter capacity loading system and an LT8 tube laser.

The 12 meter capacity loading system is unique to the Barrett Group, with other processors offering a maximum of 8.5 meter capacity. The Barrett system offers greater flexibility to customers at the design stage and allows larger finished components to be produced. The LT8 is the tenth tube laser commissioned at the Group, establishing Barrett Steel as one of the leading laser processors in Europe.

Robert Kirby, Commercial Manager, Barrett Offshore Tubes, explains the significance of the investment: "Barrett Offshore Tubes was launched in 2012 to provide a dedicated service to the offshore market for oil, gas and renewable energy sources. Barrett Offshore has already supplied to the Humber Gateway, an offshore wind farm of 73 turbines under construction in the North Sea, which will cover an area of 25 sq km.

"The combination of the larger-capacity loading system and the laser tube cutting facilities will help the company exploit the opportunities presented by the growth in manufacturing for offshore work. Part of our plans also includes coordinating with the Siemens/Hull Green Port offshore wind hub."

The LT8 is a state-of-the-art fully automatic multi-axis laser system which offers fabricators the opportunity to quickly and easily apply the concepts of ‘lean manufacturing' to the fabrication of metal tubes. It can be used to process round, square, rectangular and specially shaped tubes plus angle iron, channel and flat bar. Time savings can be up to 70% over traditional methods of cutting.

Robert Kirby continues: "The LT8 and the new loading system consolidate our expertise for the offshore wind turbine industry and other renewable energy markets, where high volumes and tight deadlines are the norm."