Succesful Seafastening for Borwin & Helwin
Last week Pontis successfully finalized the extensive seafastening project for the installation of the offshore converter stations BorWin2 & HelWin1.
Pontis was responsible for the project management, covering design, production, assembly and disassembly of the fixtures. A complex project, given the large number of stakeholders, the size and weight of the materials and the substantial consequences of a missing link in the process.
Our “men of steel” can look back on a significant achievement. 200 tonnes of steel were processed in a very short time frame. After approval of the design early March, the first load with cofferdams for Helwin was transported to Denmark only 10 days later. A week after, the central pipe for Borwin was delivered in Frederikshavn and the fixtures for the foundation piles were delivered to Rostock.
Eventually the fixtures could do what they were designed for: the huge piles on which Borwin and Helwin will rest mid-seas safely arrived at their destination.
April 30, 2013: Holland turns orange
Last November Pontis joined them on a trade mission to Brazil: Crown Prince Willem Alexander and his wife Princess Maxima: tomorrow King and Queen of the Netherlands.
April 30, or Queen's Day, is a popular celebration of the House of Orange. This year, it will mark the abdication after 33 years of Queen Beatrix and the investiture of her eldest son Willem-Alexander. With King Willem Alexander, we will have our first king in more than 120 years. It is expected to be the biggest royal gathering since Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
The Dutch prepare for the orange celebration of the year, where everyone dresses up in the royal colour and parties on the streets from dawn until late at night.
From here, Pontis expresses its warmest gratitude to Queen Beatrix and we wish our new King and Queen every success in this new phase for the country.
Live from Brazil at the Week of the Entrepreneur
As part of the annual business event "Week of the Entrepreneur", Pontis Director Dirk Jan Kootstra took part in an online "hangout" on International Entrepreneurship, which aired live from the MKBuzz: an American school bus touring throughout the Netherlands and broadcasting live with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship in the Netherlands.
Dirk Jan joined in live from Brazil and talked about doing business in Brazil, Pontis' experiences with the trade mission of last November, the usefulness of these missions and what it has brought Pontis.
The broadcast was the most watched video of the Week of the Entrepreneur and you can watch it here.
Work hard, run hard
After intensive training Pontis’ cream of the crop running team appeared at the start of the Rotterdam marathon on April 14.
The ABN AMRO Marathon Rotterdam belongs to the absolute top of all marathons in the world. The fastest times are run in Rotterdam. It brings a total of 27,500 runners and spread across the city, hundreds of thousands of spectators.
Pim de Laat went for the ultimate performance: he finished the full route of 42.195 meters in four hours. Two team members finished the half marathon in 3.30 and four people finished a quarter marathon relay run in 3:50 hours.
It's exhausting, sometimes painful and time consuming. So why run a marathon? Pim: "pushing your limits is actually the core of running a marathon. It’s amazing to experience what the human body is capable of. But to work towards the event in a team, each individually performing at their best and experiencing the happening together gives a fantastic feeling."
Supporter Dirk Jan Kootstra was immediately infected with the marathon virus and aims to run the 10 km next year.
Pontis trains the experts
Recently Pontis USA’s Nick Althoff trained the US wind energy maintenance and repair experts of Rope Partner: a premier provider of wind turbine maintenance, repair, and inspection services. Experts in their field and specialists in up-tower rope access, Rope Partner is always keen on using the best and latest repair techniques in composites.
The composite repair training was focused on further strengthening Rope Partner’s core knowledge of composites, wind turbine blade design, fabrication and repair methodology. The course took place in picturesque Santa Cruz, California and consisted of theoretical and practical training, demonstrating advanced repair techniques and highlighting the latest technology.
Joshua Crayton, blade services manager at Rope Partner says: “We at Rope Partner are thrilled to have added yet another layer of 3rd party expertise to our knowledge base, providing our technicians with additional perspective on repair methodology; Pontis brought another level of expertise and professional insight to the process raising our technicians’ understanding of failure modes and blade dynamics another notch.”
As the global demand for composite solutions increases, so does the demand for depth knowledge and expertise in this field. Pontis is therefore providing more and more training programs to companies that work with composites. We offer customized training programs from work floor to plenary eduction. Learn more about what Pontis can do for your team and contact us!
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