The plant, located in Wanze near Huy sur Meuse (Belgium), represents an investment of 250 million euros for the Südzucker Group, Europe’s leading sugar producer. It will produce half of the annual bioethanol volume for the Belgian market, or 125,000 cubic meters per annum during the next six years.

BioWanze plantNexans entered a frame agreement with Siemens NV/SA, the contractor in charge of project engineering and management, for the supply of approximately 350 kilometers of low-voltage (LV) power cables in only five months, with over one hundred different product references. The cables were manufactured by Nexans production facilities in Belgium, located in Dour and Buizingen.

A collaboration charter

Today, large-scale projects such as BioWanze are characterized by the majority of engineering work being completed on site and final cabling decisions being taken according to specific construction site requirements. This is why Nexans, when participating in such projects, ensures that its customers’ evolving needs are continuously met, both in terms of cable manufacturing and delivery. This approach requires a thorough planning effort and close collaboration with the customer, as defined in a charter which provides a collaboration guide for all project phases, from contract signing to work completion.

Flexible delivery deadlines met

“Nexans showed high flexibility, with guaranteed 24-hour delivery of cables to site. Such flexibility enabled us to address the issue of limited on-site storage capacity. The predefined volume and the storage of cables by Nexans for subcontractors made it possible for us to meet very tight deadlines,” said Peter Frans, project manager for Siemens.

BioWanze recently completed its first bioethanol delivery.