Although the Polish industry is not a leader in the offshore sector, there are many companies that have developed a strong position on this market. One of them is Zremb Chojnice, whose products can be easily found on drilling rigs around the globe. The door to offshore wind is also opening wider and wider for the company that produces specialized containers.

Zremb Chojnice and offshore have quite a long common history. According to Krzysztof Kosiorek-Sobolewski, President of the Management Board of the company from Chojnice, in times when oil extraction was more profitable, the offshore sector accounted for more than half of Zremb's production. However, the number of orders depended on world events.

– The offshore sector seemed to be strong, we were heavily involved in it, probably at the expense of other departments, which were a little neglected, because offshore was quite profitable. But when oil prices fell, that turned out to be a problem. It turned out that there is a large overproduction of containers for platforms, and we mainly produced such. For a while we had a problem with finding our way on the market – recalls Kosiorek-Sobolewski.

In Zremb Chojnice, it was time to diversify the industries to which the plant offered its products. However, this does not mean that the relationship with drilling platforms has ended. Although currently the company from Chojnice does not rely so much on production for offshore, Zremb maintained and even – paradoxically – established its position in this part of the market.

– I will not say that we are a monopolist, but for some types of containers, our customers probably do not even ask elsewhere. Those clients with whom we have been working for a dozen or even more than twenty years do not look for another contractor. I hear from the competition, which a few years ago created various containers for offshore, that now they do not have offshore. And offshore stayed with us. In total, it is 20-30% of production – says Kosiorek-Sobolewski. The president of Zremb Chojnice also adds that the share of offshore in the company's production is stable, which is extremely important – the number of orders neither increases nor decreases rapidly. – I treat this offshore as an old marriage that must be together, because the price is acceptable, the quality is adequate, but the market is not developing much, because there are no gigantic prospects – sums up the president of Zremb.

The specificity of production for the offshore sector in Chojnice has also changed. Customers no longer ask for long series, but short or even single pieces. It is rather due to the fact that devices and products operating on drilling rigs, in often extreme conditions, have a certain service life. So they need to be replaced from time to time.

But what is special about containers produced for offshore needs? How are they different from all those steel containers in which a large part of the world's trade travels on container ships? Containers designed and manufactured by Zremb Chojnice for the needs of offshore operations are a completely different product, which only have a name and dimensions in common with classic transport containers, and even then not always.

Offshore containers are ordered for specific purposes. They also have to meet very stringent safety and material regulations that do not apply to standard shipping containers. Custom-designed products differ not only in the quality of workmanship, but also in materials and dimensions.

These are not typical products. First of all, such a twenty-foot shipping container made in China is made of thin sheet metal, weighing about two tons. The containers we make are oversized, weighing, for example, five tons. A twenty-foot container can weigh more. It depends on what the container is to be used for – explains Kosiorek-Sobolewski. – Containers are oversized because they have to meet completely different strength conditions. What we do is accepted by classification societies, which means that these products are tested, for strength tests, they pass tests with x-rays of welds... This container is subject to different regulations. By definition, as one that must have much more strength, it has much more weight. Of course, the materials also differ – some of them are more noble steels.

The Zremb Chojnice offer includes a whole range of containers for various offshore applications. As a rule, customers turn to long basket-type tool containers, less often to mudskips for transporting sludge. Specialized containers, often developed for a specific order, are also popular. They contain electrical devices, control rooms and mechanisms affecting the operation of the platform or energy transmission.

The president of Zremb Chojnice admits that the company has already been contacted by representatives of the dynamically growing offshore wind sector, which also needs specialized containers that will work not only on ships building and servicing wind farms, but also at transformer stations at sea.

– For several months we have been working on a project with a very large entity, a powerful global player in the offshore wind sector. I think that we will receive this order, but there are still a lot of typically technical arrangements. This is a new area. All the elements that work together, making up such an object, are not yet so standardized and coordinated. This is something new and there are changes in it all the time, which we have to take into account in our calculations – describes Krzysztof Kosiorek-Sobolewski.

The head of Zremb Chojnice points out, however, that the entire industry has become active and the mentioned entity is not the only one from the offshore wind energy industry that turned to Chojnice. However, this is the only such advanced project.

– I estimate that this project will go into production this year. I know from experience that such consultations last about a year, a year and a half. Investment decisions have already been made, all you need to do is create a product that meets all expectations regarding durability and standards. I'm not worried about that – concludes Krzysztof Kosiorek-Sobolewski.