Certex UK opens in Taiwan, targets renewables

Doncaster, UK-based Certex UK will serve the renewable energy market from a new office in Taiwan, which will begin operations on 1 January 2022.

Certex UK is part of the Lifting Solutions Group, one of six divisions within the Axel Johnson International business. Certex provides products and services to various stakeholders within the wind energy sector, including companies that manage either the installation of new wind farms, or the service and maintenance of existing sites.

Lifting Solutions has 22 companies with over 100 locations worldwide, but until now the renewable energy sector has been served mainly from the UK and Denmark, from where other markets like Taiwan and the USA are supported. However, the newly launched global Certex Renewables Division incorporates additional companies in Germany, Spain, France, Russia, China, and the United States which have recently pivoted towards wind energy, while Lifting Solutions’ first foray outside of Europe with the acquisition of five lifting companies in Australia, chimed with global renewables strategy.

The new Taiwan operation, which will open with three dedicated members of staff, will report to Certex UK’s engineering services team, based in Great Yarmouth, UK. As part of Certex Renewables it will also provide a route to market for the full offering of loose lifting equipment and bespoke lifting products, including the manufacture of wind turbine blade lifting attachments and other customised equipment.

Scott Wilcox, managing director at Certex UK, said: “Taiwan is in the early phases of offshore renewable energy, but already has a number of new wind farms planned in the coming years. We will initially be focussed on the provision of labour for inspection services for the onshore and offshore stages of the construction of new farms. It is early in the local market’s renewables journey, but we want to be close to the point of use from the outset—delivering equipment and services for which our brand has become renowned in other parts of the world. Taiwan is also viewed by leading wind energy companies as a future hub for activity in other Asian countries. We expect to see local ports and supporting infrastructure transform in the short-term future.”

Certex UK will immediately offer its varied portfolio of equipment and services to the Taiwanese market, including statutory inspections; fall-arrest systems; pre-assembly wind farm work packages; bespoke lifting equipment design and manufacture; and more. The wind turbine blade lifting systems will be of particular interest, Wilcox said.

He added: “Certex Renewables will benefit from our presence and visibility on the ground. Several other companies do something similar, but our system is of a very high standard and has some useful additional features. We have a design team based in Denmark, working from a new technology centre to provide specialist support. Coupled with our catalogue of other services, we’re going to market with a full-service package.”