It is the end of the day, and most employees are on their way home, Anders Benfeldt is already waiting at the entrance. As the head of Semco Maritime's oil and gas division, Staget, which is Semco's shipyard, is also part of the senior vice president's areas of responsibility.
Staget is part of the business, to which he has a very special relationship.
- For me, who was trained at Aalborg Værft, this is the real deal – it is a real blacksmith shop with everything that goes with it. When we took over Staget in 2006 from Esbjerg Oil Field Service, there had been up to 400 employees. Today there are about 100 left, says Anders Benfeldt, as we walk the short half kilometer to the address Staget 1. That is where Staget got its name, which is an internal brand at Semco Maritime.
Previously, topsides have been produced for oil and gas platforms and other things for the North Sea, but today they are also produced for the renewables area. It ranges from complicated lifting yokes to wind turbines and other turbine parts for the large OEMs. The actual system for moving the CO2 from ship to drilling rig also comes from Staget. It will be used when CCS makes its debut with Project Greensand this winter at the Nini field in the North Sea.
While Staget has been part of Semco Maritime's business, the shipyard has gone through difficult years with fewer and fewer employees.
- We are on our way to becoming a good story, even though it has been a hard road. This year we will reach DKK 100 million in turnover, says Anders Benfeldt about the department with experienced employees.
- We have many blacksmiths here who are over 50 years old, who are really, really skilled and know their stuff, he continues.
At Semco, long-term employment forms part of the company's DNA, and there is great mutual loyalty between employee and company.
More work with PtX and CCS
We arrive at Staget's administration building, where the atmosphere is also high and cheerful as it is close to the end of the day. Staget's director John Sørensen and Semco's sales director Jean Grandt are waiting for their boss and me with fresh coffee poured.
There are ambitious plans for Staget, which include opportunities to do much more. These plans fit well with the large PtX plants that are in the pipeline in Esbjerg.
- We see a good future with the green transition, and we have some unique skills that are not found elsewhere, explains the sales director and elaborates:
- We want to be a one-stop shop that takes care of everything from engineering, procurement, installation and decommissioning.
Staget's director John Sørensen is ready with the specific new work areas.
- We have already delivered the pipes for the pump for DIN Forsyning's new marine heat pump here in Esbjerg. It will include work with district heating now, and we can also service power plants. And we can develop, design and produce almost everything within offshore transport and lifting equipment. It can also be spools for offshore. The work that will come with just one GW PtX plant will be enormous, says John Sørensen about the welded pipe sections, which are made of stainless steel and are typically used offshore.
For example, one GW PtX plant will be close to three times the size of the Esbjerg power plant, which has a maximum output of 378 MW. That just makes the sales director think of something.
- Oil and is still super important to us, says Jean Grandt, who wants to show something off in production.
The breakup is causing Anders Benfeldt to say goodbye, because even after work, there is a work assignment waiting. It has something to do with staff care.
- We already do something with our family days, but we would like to do something more where the family can be involved. That's why we're creating a Semco wine club, explains Anders Benfeldt, before rushing off to a board meeting at the wine club.
The perfect weld
John Sørensen and Jean Grandt already have their safety equipment ready, and a helmet, glasses, vest and safety shoes are quickly found for me, so we can move into Staget. There's plenty of space and the production of topsides for offshore has not been forgotten at all.
- We'd like to produce topsides again, because we have the space, says John Sørensen, pointing to some of the halls that are empty.
He still has to reject the question of whether the last topside for Tyra, which has just arrived, could have been produced here at Staget instead of in Batam, Indonesia.
- I think it's so big that it couldn't be here. And so many man-years have been spent on it that it is also about finances, explains John Sørensen, and nods when I ask if it also has something to do with the difference in salaries in Denmark and Indonesia.
- But I hope that when we are going to produce smaller top pages again, adds John Sørensen.
At a time when local content, sustainability and produced in Europe as well as CO2-footprints are right up there on the political agenda, it doesn't seem impossible at all anymore.
We pass the pipes that will be used for Project Green Sand before we reach a huge construction that is on its way to Tyra.
- This is the ladder where you will climb up to Tyra, explains Jean Grandt.
The huge ladder element is lying down and still waiting to be painted in the characteristic yellow RAL 1007 offshore color.
We are slowly walking towards the exit when John Sørensen suddenly stops at a wind turbine part and gets completely lost in very carefully inspecting a weld with his index finger.
Is there something wrong with the weld?, I ask.
No, it is absolutely perfect, says John Sørensen visibly satisfied.
He has no doubt about Staget's future and potential, but also what is needed to ensure future growth and profits.
- We must constantly focus on driving Staget forward, says John Sørensen, who has been director of Staget since 2021.
- Above all, we are well equipped to be able to take on more work. In the future, it is those who have the people who get the work. We can attract more, explains Jean Grandt, about Semco Maritime, which has a total of 1,800 employees.
It has long passed 5 p.m., and we are saying goodbye to the cold autumn weather.
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