Back on 12 February, I reported that the Teesworks’ flagship project, the SeAH Factory in Middlesbrough, had lost its first major customer. Things have suddenly become even worse; The company’s next job has also been terminated.
Another blow
Industry journal RENews is reporting that RWE, the German energy giant behind the Norfolk Vanguard wind farm project, has ditched SeAH as the supplier for the Vanguard West portion of the deal.
How it started
As I reported here, due to ongoing production problems dating back to July 2025, SeAH wasn’t able to fulfil its inaugural contract to supply monopiles to Ørsted. In a confirmation that these problems haven’t been overcome, RWE has now pulled the plug on half of SeAH’s second contract.
To lose one contract may be regarded as a misfortune…
SeAH’s initial contract was to manufacture monopiles (bases) for offshore wind platforms at the under-construction Hornsea 3 wind farm. This deal was inked with Ørsted on 14 February 2022. Ørsted had simultaneously contracted with Spanish company Haizea to make monopiles for the same wind farm. This proved to be a good move for Ørsted, as Haizea was able to keep its side of the bargain. When it became apparent that SeAH was unable to fulfill its contract, Ørsted also hired three other suppliers; China’s Dajin Offshore and two German companies, Steelwind and EEW Group stepped into the breach.
…to lose both looks like carelessness
On 13 December 2023, SeAH signed a deal with Norwegian firm Vattenfall to build monopiles for the Vanguard West and Vanguard East windfarms, which are due to be constructed off the coast of Norfolk. But within days of signing that deal with SeAH, Vattenfall sold the entire contract to RWE. At the time that SeAH lost the Ørsted deal in February 2026, industry insiders warned that RWE would run strict due diligence on SeAH to ensure that it had the competence and capacity to deliver the monopiles for Norfolk Vanguard.
Loss of confidence
SeAH was about to commence work on the Vanguard West monopiles, but it would now appear that RWE doesn’t have the confidence that SeAH can deliver the goods, at least on Vanguard West.
Tried and trusted suppliers – but not in the UK
No doubt having observed how things turned out in February, RWE has now turned to two manufacturers who can be relied on to make its monopiles. These companies are Haizea and Steelwind, two of the firms selected by Ørsted for the Hornsea 3 job. Production will take place at factories in Bilbao, Spain (Haizea) and Nordenham, Germany (Steelwind) to facilitate a quick-fire programme for the 92-turbine wind farm. The project is scheduled to reach financial close this summer. Vanguard West is due for completion in 2029.
A crumb of comfort
However, SeAH will retain the Vanguard East contract, at least for now. The timescale for this isn’t as tight as for Vanguard West; RWE has until 2030 to deliver it. This will give the company time to assess SeAH’s ramp-up before deciding whether it will need to go back to the market for another supplier. There is ample spare production capacity available throughout Europe in the event that RWE decides to look elsewhere other than SeAH for Vanguard East.
According to our sources
Incredibly, SeAH’s own website states that the Middlesbrough factory is 99% complete. However, it’s been at this stage for at least six months now, and this cannot be correct. SeAH also claims that there are 1,200 people on site, including 350 SeAH employees. What have these 350 people actually been doing for the past nine months? Also, by inference, SeAH is claiming that there are still 850 construction employees on site. That simply can’t be true either.
Snake Eyes
The selection of SeAH for Teesworks’ signature project was always a gamble. South Korean firm SeAH was new to monopile manufacture, a very specific and technically difficult process. The company also seems to have struggled to come to terms with British working practices. It’s been in an ongoing industrial dispute with the GMB union since October 2025, and the CEO was summoned back to Korea in February. Teesworks roll of the dice may have proved a gamble too far.
