WORLD’S LARGEST SPECIALTY WIRE ROPE PRODUCTION FACILITY IN ITALY

November 30, 2009 – Trieste (Italy). The factory, the leading Italian tens structures engineering company and specialty wire ropes manufacturer, with over 200 years of experience, announces the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Trieste which will produce the largest wire ropes in the world. The new facility will give factory maximum flexibility to exploit its technological leadership in the provision of innovative products to meet the changing demands of the market.

The new facility will produce Flexpack compacted non-rotating steel wire ropes, the industry standard for the most demanding high load, high resistance to axial and transverse pressure applications. The facility will have the capacity to produce cables that weigh over 550 tonnes and are 175 mm in diameter, the largest ever manufactured: the current rope weight record will be exceeded by more than 200 tonnes.

These ropes are used across many sectors in which high performance and reliability are essential, such as subsea installation services. The factory’s new wire ropes have a higher tensile strength ensuring that the crane remains in position on the extraction site as long as possible and in extreme conditions. With the launch of such a unique product, Viking Moorings intends to build upon its market leading position in these sectors.

The port of Trieste is an excellent location for the facility, offering a strong base of relevant, high technology skills and a sophisticated logistics infrastructure capable of handling cargo for international exports.