Supported by Luxinnovation, the company specialising in access solutions and lifting equipment and personnel is increasing its technological initiatives and international presence.
Jean-Michel Gaudron
Integrated since 2022 into the Swedish group Alimak listed on the stock exchange, Tractel Secalt continues its development in Luxembourg, from its Foetz site with its 70 employees
In early spring 2024, the company reached an important milestone in its development. It has obtained ISO 19443:2018 certification for the quality management system in the supply chain of the nuclear energy sector supplying products and services important to nuclear safety (ITNS) products or services.
"We are the first in Luxembourg to obtain this certification, thus paving the way," says Dr. Maryline Moreno, Director of QHSE-Nuclear Safety & R&D at Tractel-Secalt. "At the beginning, it was a 'nice to have' certification that quickly became a 'must have', since it was mandatory in order to be able to respond to IPSN calls for tenders from major contractors."
We are the first in Luxembourg to obtain this certification, thus paving the way. Dr. Maryline Moreno (Tractel-Secalt)
Since then, contacts initiated by Luxinnovation have been made with another company in the country that also wishes to embark on the same project.
The uniqueness of this certification lies in its broad scope of application: marketing; conception; manufacturing; installation; maintenance and repair of permanent or temporary access systems for working at heights and lifting loads; for products and/or services classified as IPSN.
"This allows us to offer a complete solution to our customers, and in the process, stand out from our competitors."
Initiated at the end of 2022, this ISO certification process lasted for a year and a half. It ensures a strong increase in skills, from safety, already anchored in the collective consciousness of the company, to nuclear safety.
For several years, the company has been active in the civil nuclear sector, with (non-IPSN) achievements in construction and maintenance such as the Ringhals nuclear power plant (in Sweden) in 2015 or the ITER International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (in France) in 2021.
"This certification, which certainly applies to niche products and services, is above all a strong act of commitment to excellence, the constant improvement of our processes and the satisfaction of our customers. We share the same nuclear safety philosophy as the major players in the field. This translates into increased attention and consideration of technological, behavioural and organisational factors."
The opportunities are such that the company has even hired two "IVBs" (International Volunteering in Business) in its sales department, with activities specially dedicated to these markets, including one for the Canadian market.
(Photo: © Tractel Secalt / Gretel Sardiñas Días)Labelled Made in LuxembourgThe difficulty, or even size, is not likely to frighten Tractel Secalt, as evidenced by the enormous machine currently being assembled in the company's workshops. Called BLRT (Bulk Lifting and Removal Tool), it is a 70-tonne behemoth intended for the construction of the Fehmarn Belt, the longest submerged rail and road tunnel in the world (18 km).
The structure will connect the Danish islands of Lolland-Falster (south of Copenhagen) to the German region of Schleswig-Holstein, passing under the Baltic Sea, at a final cost of more than €7 billion, partly financed by the European Commission.
Our added value lies in our ability to design, integrate and assemble the various elements at our site in Luxembourg. Dr. Maryline Moreno, (ractel-Secalt)
This is the largest engineering project ever undertaken in Denmark and for which Tractel-Secalt has developed a device for retracting the 10-tonne watertight bulkheads at the ends of each of the 271-metre-long (and 73,500-tonne) elements that will be put end to end to complete the work. It is expected to be commissioned in 2027.
(Photo: © Tractel Secalt / Gretel Sardiñas Días)"We started from a blank sheet of paper and developed the concept between September 2022 and April 2023. Everything then happened very quickly and we delivered the first two machines at the beginning of 2023 and successfully passed the dynamic tests on site," says Moreno. "Although most of the mechanical parts are produced outside Luxembourg, our added value lies in our ability to design, integrate and assemble the various elements (electronic, hydraulic, mechanical, etc.) on our website in Luxembourg. This is why the Chamber of Commerce awarded us the 'Made in Luxembourg' label.
Even HRH the Grand Duke himself was present for the official inauguration of this impressive machine last April.
The agility and flexibility required to accomplish such a feat are a perfect illustration of the never-ending creative effervescence that drives Tractel's R&D teams and that is reflected in other areas, perhaps less spectacular, but just as essential in the life of the company. This is the case, for example, for a project to create new durable bases that can be installed without drilling for optimal safety of interventions in confined spaces (such as wells, crawl spaces, pits, cisterns, tanks, pipes, etc.).
“‘We have been working on the responsible development of products that meet various standards criteria and can be adapted to those already in our catalogue. The dangers of working in confined spaces have been written about since Roman times. However, work in confined spaces still leads to fatal accidents on a regular basis.”
This reflection resulted in the claming systems that allow easy assembly and disassembly in less than two minutes by the user. This project was the subject of an application for RDI funding from the Ministry of the Economy, which recognised the usefulness of such a product.
Tractel Secalt was supported by Luxinnovation in the preparation of its application, just as it had been for another project, this time as part of the Neistart Lëtzebuerg aid developed at the time of the Covid crisis.
As a result, the company has been able to develop, among other things, an interface allowing the remote connection and control of the "Building Maintenance Units" installed at customers' sites, regardless of their location in the world, The intervention can now be immediate and remote, generating valuable time (increased productivity) and cost savings due to a low carbon impact.
