By means of short interview we would like you put our highly regarded IRO members in the sportlight. This time we get to know Nord-Lock Group in a personal interview with Christophe Cuypers, Key accountmanager Tensioning.
What do you excel at?
Nord-Lock Group is a global leader in secure bolted solutions. We believe that no one should have to question the integrity of the mechanical systems that play such a critical role in our way of life. All solutions are developed and manufactured in-house, ensuring they meet the highest standards in the industry. Our team of dedicated experts work closely with customers all over the world.
In 1982, the original Nord-Lock® wedge-locking technology that safely secures bolted joints was developed. Since then, our range of innovative bolting technologies and expertise has grown to be the most comprehensive on the market, incorporating Superbolt™ mechanical tensioners, Boltight™ hydraulic tensioners and Expander® System pivot pins.
What persuaded you to become a member?
Nord-Lock Group has partnered with offshore industries to overcome bolting and engineering challenges for several decades. In many ways, we share the IRO mission to elevate cost-efficiency, innovation, and sustainability each time we work with a customer’s unique bolted connections.
We’re looking forward to using the membership and networking events to make connections. We know that our solutions and services have great value to the Dutch Offshore Energy industry – and it only takes a conversation for us to get started with helping those companies to optimize their bolted connections.
What do you have to offer other members?
From production to engineering and sales, we have a world-class team that is always ready to deliver. Our services focus on life cycle profitability, design, production, training, and installation support. If you have an engineering challenge, we will provide you with a solution that maximizes the productivity, safety, and reliability of your application.
Nord-Lock Group has the testing facilities to replicate harsh offshore environments and validate the functioning of bolted solutions. So, whether it’s corrosion-resistant wedge-locking washers, or cutting-edge predictive maintenance with sensor-enabled digital bolting, there isn’t a bolting challenge that our engineers can’t solve.
How does Nord-Lock contribute to the energy transition?
Our bolting solutions are made to last, which is an important contributor to the circularity movement. More critical is the pace at which offshore renewables infrastructure is scaling up, with wind farms becoming increasingly huge and further offshore.
As the turbines scale, so do the forces exerted on critical bolted connections – making mechanical integrity and maintenance a top priority. Superbolt are developing a growing range of load-sensing, internet-connected bolts that automatically measure and communicate preload values, allowing for seamless remote monitoring during installation and throughout the lifetime of the application.
The ability to continuously measure preload with an accuracy that is better than ±5% adds confidence to the installation process, but the ongoing monitoring adds priceless value to optimizing the use of assets and maintaining uptime.