Vacon to Deliver AC Drives for AXTech Winches in Norway


Vacon Plc - AC drives manufacturer Vacon will deliver liquid-cooled AC drives with a total power of 2.7 MW for active heave-compensated winches onboard a Norwegian-built IMR ship. The delivery will take place in March 2012.

Vacon and Norwegian winch manufacturer AXTech signed a contract for 17 liquid-cooled 690 V AC drives to be used for one of the largest electrified active heave-compensated winches ever built. The winch system will be installed onboard a new IMR (Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair) vessel, to be built in Norway. The vessel will be completed in late 2012.

The winches are used for lowering and lifting equipment to and from the seabed, at depths down to 2,000 m. Besides the main winch with a capacity of 70 tons, the system comprises several auxiliary and guide wire winches. The winch system uses Vacon's Active Front-End technology which fulfills the most stringent harmonic distortion requirements, set forth by the Norwegian classification body Den Norske Veritas. Furthermore, if necessary, it allows the energy generated by winch braking to be fed back to the vessel's electrical network.

Says Managing Director Per Halvor Rønningen of Vacon Norway, "The most important factor for choosing Vacon was the advanced AFE technology, and a proven track record in offshore winch applications, along with a competitive price."

Vacon Plc

Further information:

Per Halvor Rønningen, Managing Director, Vacon AS, tel. +47 905 30313, email per.ronningen(at)vacon.no
Press contact:

Sebastian Linko, Director, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations, Vacon Plc, tel. +358 (0)40 8371 634, email sebastian.linko(at)vacon.com

Vacon in brief

Vacon's operations are driven by a passion to develop, manufacture and sell the best AC drives in the world - and nothing else. AC drives are used to control electric motors and in renewable energy generation. Vacon has R&D and production units in Finland, the USA, China and Italy, and sales offices in 27 countries. In 2010, Vacon had revenues of EUR 338 million and globally employed 1300 people. The shares of Vacon Plc (VAC1V) are quoted on the main list of the Helsinki stock exchange.

Driven by Drives, www.vacon.com

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