A key figure behind a partnership emerging in the Humber’s industrial cluster has told how early exposure to offshore wind’s deployment helped forge the future.
Barry Taylor worked for Blackrow Group for 12 years before joining On Line Group (OLG) and the two companies are now heading up a collaboration with potential to deliver for the area and the 海角视频 on a significant scale.
Having hosted a special day focusing on what is possible, where two further partners were welcomed – Technica and F.E.S. (EX) Ltd – Mr Taylor has told how collaborative working will define the next generation of leadership within industrial supply chains.
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He said: “Collaboration is a word which is commonly used – so much so that I don’t think I have attended a seminar, conference or networking event in the past 18 months that hasn’t said: ‘To meet the demand, we will have to collaborate’. But who is doing it? I thought: ‘Why not us?’.
“The Humber Region needs 22,000 skilled construction workers to deliver the 海角视频 Net Zero ambition but how will it, especially when Hinkley Point, HS2 and Teesside are all being developed at the same time? I also hear operators rightly asking if anyone has considered the ongoing maintenance and operational work we generate.
“I remembered back more than 15 years ago, when we had the emergence of the offshore wind industry. It was truly different, new, and we had no idea what skills we needed or how many people it would involve! We had no idea of the design, fabrication, assembly, installation and maintenance needs, as no-one had ever done it – except the Danish!
“So I travelled Europe, visiting Denmark, Norway, Germany to meet people in the hope I could gain an overview of the engineering requirements which we hoped would underpin a strategy upon which our business could thrive. I even travelled to a conference in Norway to meet two guys who lived in Grimsby and who were pioneering our regional response.”
The two men were Winston Phillips, former managing director of Cosalt Plc, and the recently passed Kurt Christensen, who had seen the potential of wind and diversified his fishing vessel agency while championing the opportunity for the area. They had formed a nascent Grimsby Renewables Partnership, the board of which Mr Taylor went on to join to help local businesses flourish in the new industry.
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He said: “They laughed when I told them I had gone all that way just to meet them, and asked why I hadn’t just knocked on their office doors, but they helped me, they introduced me to people, they shared their wisdom and they gave me their time, for free. Thanks to those guys, I was invited to spend a month in the offices of Dong Energy, the forefather of offshore wind – that became Orsted.
“Only now do I truly understand what really happened during that period – we collaborated – we aligned our objectives to understand the value chain and we did it together – we made it happen.”
Mr Taylor said the Humber is now “the shining light in global offshore wind,” home to the largest wind farms in the world and the largest operations and maintenance cluster to support them and several others.
He said: “If our challenge is how we protect our ongoing operations while the Net Zero and decarbonisation projects mobilise, then I say it’s easy, let’s work together, understand each other’s issues and find a solution, now.
“As engineers, we use our knowledge and creativity to solve complex problems. Through collaboration, we can create synergies which will reduce the cost of acquisition, streamline communication and cross-disciplinary co-ordination; find solutions through shared expertise, deliver optimised designs which reduce time on site, reduce risk and ultimately, drive continuous improvement in a rapidly evolving industry.”
Blackrow directors Gary Pexman and Luke O’Brien joined Mr Taylor at OLG for the event, with Frank Lee, chief executive of The Institute for Collaborative Working and Andy Brown, managing director of Caladail Skills presenting. John Davison, group managing director of Technica, and James Ward, managing director of F.E.S. (EX) Ltd were also in attendance.
Looking ahead, Mr Taylor added: “I believe that true collaboration requires three key components; an intrinsic knowledge of the value chain and an organisation’s place within it; a partner or client who has aligned objectives and a willingness to learn and develop together. If we have that, we can break down barriers and truly deliver value.”