The chief executive of Dutch fabricator Sif is expecting a downturn in tendering activity in 2027 and 2028 as developer grapple with ongoing business case challenges on offshore wind farms.
Fred van Beers made the comments in the latest episode of The reNEWS Podcast, as he shows editor Stephen Dunne around the company’s newly-expanded manufacturing facility in Rotterdam.
The Sif man said he hopes governments and developers will support the European supply chain as much as possible during the quieter period, before orders are expected to increase for 2029 and beyond.
Placing orders for cheaper Chinese foundations is a “mistake”, he believes, while he believes that developers can follow some suppliers by “let(ting) go a little bit of margin ambitions”.
“We, we are definitely keen to invest ourselves in order to bridge the gap and keep the experience on board,” he said.
“That’s the gesture we as a supply chain in general are making. But that would also require developers to take a similar approach in that and live and let live.”
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