Cargill Gouda: “With the new stainless steel storage tanks, we now have a reliable tank park for our new plant.”
Gpi Tanks supplies eight stainless steel storage tanks for Cargill’s new plant in Gouda
Cargill Bioindustrial B.V. in Gouda specializes in producing biobased ingredients for industrial applications, such as lubricants, coatings, plastics, and cleaning agents. At its Gouda site, the company has opened a new plant for the production of sustainable insulating oil. For the storage of raw materials and intermediate products within this new facility, eight stainless steel storage tanks were realized. Gpi handled the engineering, production, and delivery of these tanks.
Richard van der Spuij, Portfolio Build Project Manager at Cargill Gouda, explains how the project originated: “Within the energy sector, the demand for more sustainable solutions is growing. For transformers, Cargill has therefore developed a biobased alternative to mineral insulating oil: Envirotemp™ FR3™ fluid (FR3). To meet this growing demand, Cargill decided to build a new production facility in Gouda: the Equus FR3 project. With this project, we are investing in a modern plant where this sustainable transformer fluid will also be produced in Europe. For the realization of this facility, storage tanks were required for the storage of raw materials and intermediate products. During the preparation phase, we therefore looked for a party that could handle both the design and construction of these tanks. Ultimately, we selected Gpi.”
Choosing Gpi
Gpi was involved at an early stage during the tender phase of the project, where multiple suppliers were compared. Richard explains the choice for Gpi: “We have known Gpi for a long time and have always had a pleasant collaboration in the past. Gpi is therefore a preferred supplier for us. In addition to the quality of the tanks, the short distance to our location in Gouda also played a role. During the tender phase, we thoroughly evaluated several suppliers based on price, quality, and planning. Based on that assessment, we ultimately chose Gpi again. The positive collaboration in previous projects certainly contributed to that decision.”
“The collaboration with the Gpi team was very pleasant. Communication was clear and they acted quickly whenever needed.”
About the project
The assignment for Gpi consisted of the engineering, production, and delivery of eight stainless steel storage tanks for a completely new plant. Gpi was involved from the very first phase in the basic engineering of the entire project, where the tank designs formed an important part of the further detailed design of the FR3 plant. In total, this involved eight stainless steel storage tanks with different volumes: one tank of 2 m³, one tank of 7 m³, two tanks of 40 m³, and four large storage tanks of 450 m³. The color of the large storage tanks plays an important role, aligning with the sustainability goals of the project and the ambition to give something back to the community with this plant. All tanks are insulated and designed for the storage of products that are part of the FR3 production process. During the engineering phase, there was close collaboration between the engineers of Cargill and Gpi. “The collaboration with the Gpi team was very pleasant. Communication was clear and they acted quickly whenever needed,” says Richard.
Production, transport, and installation
For this project, the international collaboration within the Gpi Group was fully utilized. Multiple Gpi production locations were involved: the small tanks were produced at the facility in Lopik, the large tanks in Groot-Ammers, and the platforms in Poland. This distribution ensured everything was delivered according to schedule. Prior to delivery, a factory acceptance test (FAT) was carried out, during which the tanks were thoroughly inspected. Richard explains: “The visit to the production site was well organized. Findings were properly documented in reports and followed up clearly.”
The transport and final installation of the tanks went entirely according to plan. The small tanks were transported by truck to the production site and installed inside the new plant by a third party. The four 450 m³ tanks were transported by ship from the production site in Groot-Ammers and delivered via the Hollandsche IJssel, after which the Gpi team carried out the installation. After installation, a full-of-water test was conducted on site to also perform a settlement test of the foundation.
“Gpi also returned after delivery to neatly finalize small details. That shows they take responsibility for the end result.”
About the result and collaboration
With the new storage tanks, Cargill is laying the foundation for the first FR3 plant in Europe. This expansion makes it possible to produce a new type of transformer oil locally and meet the growing demand from the energy sector. Richard looks back on the project with satisfaction: “For our location in Gouda, this means we can further expand our product portfolio, while continuing to deliver the high quality our customers rely on.”
He is also positive about the collaboration with Gpi: “The contact was always pleasant. The people at Gpi are easily accessible and have a lot of expertise. It is a professional organization with a strong quality department, which gives confidence during a project like this. Even after delivery, Gpi returned to neatly finalize small matters. That shows they take responsibility for the end result.”
