British offshore wind services provider Venterra has reached an agreement to acquire Cape Holland, a Netherlands-based offshore construction services provider, for an undisclosed amount.
Cape Holland is a market leader in offshore vibro-piling, a new method for installing or removing larger monopile foundations supporting offshore wind farms.
Founded in 2002, Cape Holland has developed its own vibro-lifting tools to drive foundations into the seafloor. These bring advantages compared with traditional installation methods.
The new method is faster and can protect against "pile runs".
It also brings environmental benefits as the construction process creates less noise on the sea surface and within the water columns. Its fleet of vibro-lifting tools is now deployed across the world by developers and contractors.
Venterra Group CEO Rob Jewkes stated: “Laurens and his team pioneered the use of the proven vibro hammer technology from onshore applications to offshore wind. They have built a very successful business with a highly differentiated offering as the demand for ever-larger turbine foundations accelerates.
“CAPE Holland fits in our build phase group of companies and complements our foundations offering with FoundOcean, Balltec and Osbit. Developers need ways to reduce project risk, cost and time, and Venterra is putting together a streamlined set of related services to deliver a joined-up supply chain capable of meeting the urgent and growing demand.”
Cape Holland described the purchase as strategic, adding it can help the company to realise its growth plans.
Established in 2021, Venterra aims to create a company that supports the energy transition through its services supporting the offshore wind industry.
The company is building service offerings across the wind farm life cycle, including engineering, building and support services through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions.
Cape Holland CEO Laurens de Neef stated: “We are proud of the innovation that has driven our growth in offshore wind. Joining Venterra will enable continued investment in foundation installation in deeper waters and the ability to support larger turbines up to 18-20MW.
“We share Venterra’s vision to create a sustainable supply chain and help the industry to innovate at the pace needed to meet the needs of developers and offshore contractors.
“Venterra’s footprint in the United States and APAC as well as Europe fits our own expansion plans as we deploy expertise gained from European, Taiwanese and Japanese wind farms across the global market.”
