DUNKERQUE LNG:
Since the facilities were set up in 2016, DUNKERQUE LNG (a subsidiary of Belgian group Fluxys), owner of the Dunkirk LNG terminal, decided to make further investments so it could offer an LNG refuelling service on land and at sea. In fact, the number of LNG-powered ships is surging, as this fuel is a lot more eco-friendly than heavy fuel oil. The LNG terminal jetty has thus been adapted for fuelling vessels and small-scale LNG carriers (from 5,000 m3) that supply commercial ships powered by LNG. On 30 April, FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE LARGEST LNG-POWERED CONTAINER SHIP IN THE WORLD, THE CMA CGM JACQUES SAADÉ, WAS REFUELLED AT SEA WITH APPROXIMATELY 16,400 M3 OF LNG. Dunkerque LNG has also developed a tanker loading station with a capacity for 3,000 lorries per year i.e., 60,000 tonnes.
COCA COLA:
COCA-COLA European Partners, the bottler of the American Coca-Cola group, has recently invested 75 million euro in its Socx site (CCHF area). The site is installing a new state-of-the-art aseptic bottling line to meet the growing demand of French consumers for “Fuze Tea” and “Tropico” drinks. The Socx factory is the largest in Europe. It employs around 400 workers and produces more than 5 million cans and bottles each day.
SNF FLOCRYL:
Specialising in the manufacture of chemical compounds that help to treat, recycle and conserve water, French group SNF has just started building a new production unit in Gravelines, on a PORT OF DUNKIRK site. The French chemistry company had made official its decision to set up a new site in the Dunkirk region back in March 2018. This initial 70 million euro investment could rise to 160 million as the creation of new workshops is already planned. Under the name of SNF Flocryl, the site will eventually lead to the creation of 160 direct jobs. “The reason we chose Gravelines for our new factory was its proximity to the port of Dunkirk. Our raw materials mostly arrive from the Northern Europe and our finished products also go to Northern Europe. Having a site near a port that offers regular lines to these countries helps to reduce our transport costs considerably”, stated Pascal Rémy when the factory’s first block was laid on 9 June.
“Being located near a port, which offers regular routes
to these countries, therefore helps us to reduce
our transport costs considerably.”
Pascal Rémy, PDG SNF FLOCRYL.
KUBOTA:
Six years after its arrival, KFME has just made an investment of 1.8 million euros in a WELDING LINE which includes, in particular, two welding robots and an extraction system for welding fumes. This new line will allow the company to assembly its cabins on site instead of importing them from Japan. “Importing tractor cabins brought with it a significant transportation cost”, comments MASAHIKO KOSHIDAKA, CEO of Kubota Farm Machinery Europe.
“If they were already assembled, we could only fit 7 inside each container. As separate parts, as they will be from now on, we can fit 24. In addition to reducing costs, assembling the cabins on site will also help us to reduce our delivery times for our European customers. Our factory in Bierne has reached a level of industrial maturity and has know-how that enables us to go ahead with the expansion that we had planned when we set up the factory”.
ASTRAZENECA:
The Anglo-Swedish group ASTRAZENECA, which employs 400 workers in Dunkirk, is currently investing more than 200 million euros to continue expanding its Dunkirk site, which specialises in the manufacture of aerosol products for treating asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the vast majority of which are intended for export (around forty countries worldwide). This budget will be put towards, in particular, an autonomous assembly line and an upgrade to existing machines and infrastructure, too. Around one hundred direct jobs will be created to support this ramping up.
Find all the detailed information on the industrial renewal in our latest issue of Dunkerque News
