A world market leader from Foetz: Tractel SECALT technology opens tunnel doors in the Baltic Sea.
Tractel SECALT’ roots date back to 1948, when the company started in just 80 square meters in the Grund district of Luxembourg’s capital. Since then, the company has quite literally soared to success. Despite its focus on temporary and permanent access solutions for working at height and material handling, its latest innovation, developed in Foetz (where the company has been based since 2016), is designed for use below sea level. The BLRT machine, proudly labeled ‘Made in Luxembourg,’ plays a key role in the German-Danish Femern tunnel project.
Customised: Complex premium applications
SECALT stands for Société d’Etudes et de Constructions d’Appareils de Levage et de Traction – a mission that continues to define the company today. Over the decades, SECALT has become a global leader in its niche within the material handling industry. The acquisition by the French company Tractel in the 1980s significantly accelerated its international expansion, as Benoît Patanchon, Managing Director, Tractel SECALT, explains.
“Tractel opened the door to the world for SECALT. Even then, SECALT offered several unique solutions, some of which are still in use today. This ‘French-Luxembourgish technological partnership’ ultimately led to our global breakthrough, where our brand is now firmly positioned in the premium segment, representing forward-thinking, highly complex and customised applications of the highest quality.”
Widely used: 3,000 solutions in over 150 countries
Since 1988, Tractel SECALT has sold 3,000 of these applications, delivered to over 150 countries and used across various industries. The solutions are frequently used for the transport of people and materials, both in construction and ongoing maintenance, often in high-profile property projects. Notable examples include the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai and the Jean Monnet building in Luxembourg City’s Kirchberg district. Industrial companies and the energy sector, including a specialisation in civil nuclear energy, are also key parts of Tractel SECALT’s global customer base.
Tractel SECALT’s customers benefit from the expertise of 60 employees from 10 different countries, with most based in Foetz. Each solution is developed here to meet specific requirements, and the entire assembly process, including dynamic testing, is conducted in southern Luxembourg. Benoît Patanchon: “In our own way, we are a kind of a hidden champion. Specialising in customised solutions, we may not have a large visible presence locally, but our innovations contribute to major projects around the globe.”
Made in Luxembourg: globally recognised technology
Typically, these solutions operate at height, but until 2022, 4 Tractel SECALT machines will be used underwater for the first time. In the German-Danish Femern Tunnel project, the company’s Bulkhead Lifting and Removal Tool (BLRT) machines will remove doors between the 217-meter-long individual components and return them to land for reuse after installation. The manually operated and sensor-equipped machines exemplify the full expertise from Foetz, which is why it proudly bears the ‘Made in Luxembourg’ label, as Dr. Maryline Moreno-Couranjou, QHSE-Nuclear Safety & R&D Director, Tractel SECALT, explains.
“As a premium provider in our field, we hold several ISO certifications that underscore our commitment to quality, health and work security, eco-friendliness and nuclear safety. On top of this, we are also certified EN10902.EXC.3. With the Femern project, spanning 18 kilometers, we are providing Luxembourg-based expertise to one of the most prestigious infrastructure projects in the world. The BLRT was designed, manufactured and tested here in Foetz, and we are proud to deliver on the ‘Made in Luxembourg’ quality promise.”
