Motive goes Dutch

Motive’s solutions have both pushed the design envelope and filled its own pockets, earning the group a record £10m turnover in 2017. For example, last year it delivered a custom-designed carousel loading tower for Swan Hunter, with a 10t tensioner, height extension sections and the capacity for handling flexible products with a large, 550mm outer diameter. Interestingly, this tower was designed around a modular build to allow for onsite assembly and to make installation on the Lewek Constellation simpler.

The company’s involvement hasn’t been limited to deployment: Motive is also at the heart of a novel wave power prototype, WaveSub. This consists of a barge and a floating sphere which is turned by the sea’s orbital water motion. However, no less than nine bespoke hydraulic winches were needed to tether the device.

Working alongside WaveSub innovator Marine Power Systems, the company took on the design and engineering of the winches with their pressure-compensated hydraulic gearboxes and motors, including the associated power pack. Four of the winches have load monitoring capability, allowing the operators to keep a remote eye on operations. Most importantly these winches had to be robust, able to keep running for a year between services.

The Scottish headquartered group already has a global reach with six fleet locations, including the UK, Norway, Houston, Brazil and the Middle East. However, now Motive is keen to develop its European interests further and is setting up a joint hire venture with EuroRope on a prime spot in Europe’s largest port, in order to answer growing demand coming from both offshore wind and decommissioning industries.

The new company, EuroWinch, is placing a rental fleet, including 150t capacity winches, cranes and umbilical deployment kit, on a quayside facility in the Port of Rotterdam. The £1m investment also includes the necessary mobilisation and testing systems to make a complete offering that can reach Belgium, Germany and France without the additional shipping charges, “which can help clients manage costs”, said Motive’s MD James Gregg.