In the workshops of the Navantia Turbine factory, located in the Ferrol shipyard, several tasks are currently being carried out, one of them for the F-110 frigates, which have not yet begun to be executed. These days, the facilities of the old Bazán undertake the tests of one of the gearboxes for the fifth Arab corvette that is built in the San Fernando factory (Cádiz). In addition, the shaft lines and torpedo tubes for the S-80 class submarines that are manufactured in Cartagena are also produced.
Para poder llevar a cabo estos trabajos, la fábrica de Turbinas ha diseñado una nueva máquina, que supone un salto de calidad en el mecanizado de las fragatas con respecto a los procedimientos que se llevaron a cabo con las F-100. Fue construida por una empresa del País Vasco y está ya instalada en los talleres de Turbinas para efectuar parte de los trabajos previstos.
Its use will allow, in addition to carrying out more precision tasks, to meet the requirements established by the combat system of future frigates.
In addition, like the rest of the company, the plant is already working on the design of the reducers and other equipment for the F-110s that will be manufactured at its facilities.
The staff of this unit is made up of 130 people. The bulk of the census of employees is made up of specialists in the trades that require machining tasks.
Main challenges
The director of the Turbine factory, Andrés Cachaza, explained that their main objectives for the coming years are to maintain, on the one hand, the manufacture of the necessary components for the propulsion systems of the ships that Navantia builds, and the maintenance of their traditional businesses, at the same time that they open up to the diversification of new sectors, as a consequence of the energy transition and the evolution of electricity generation towards renewable sources.