First offshore project

2008

A six-storey container complex for the Blue Giant dock ship, now known as the Mexican Giant, was our first venture into the offshore segment. The owner received a charter order in the Gulf of Mexico and therefore required additional accommodation, sanitary facilities, locker rooms, kitchens, social rooms and offices to house the extra 197 crew members. 
ELA developed a bespoke solution that remains in use to this day. This milestone marked the first step on our path into the offshore container business.

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Offshore container design

2009/2010

Backed by years of experience in container construction, together with our small team, we set out on the path to pool our knowledge on individual construction methods to create a standardised product. Our goal was to design a container that would satisfy all relevant offshore regulations and requirements in terms of equipment, required materials and dimensions to ultimately be leased and sold on sea-going vessels and platforms in the future.

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The 20ft ELA Offshore Allrounder

2011

The design phase was completed in mid-2011, after which the 20ft ELA Offshore Allrounder was born. Small but mighty, functional, refined and fully certified – a dream for the marketing team. Components such as stairways and gangways that could be combined to quickly produce multi-storey container complexes were also developed at the same time.
Armed with our product data sheets created in-house, we canvassed prospective clients. We proudly showcased our latest innovations wherever we went.

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Mexico project

2012

The hard work paid off – we very quickly booked our first major contract. A Mexican company required accommodation for 216 additional employees on an offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico. 
Shortly after presenting the concept and brief negotiations, ELA won the contract. We started constructing 54 20ft ELA Offshore containers right away. Time was not on our side, however we successfully managed to construct all containers by the agreed delivery date.

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Converter platform project

2013

In the first quarter of 2013, we successfully won another major contract. The customer required temporary accommodation to house employees for the commissioning of a converter platform in the North Sea. ELA leased a total of 30 20ft Offshore containers, six stairways and 72 gangways for a three-storey complex constructed on the platform.

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Workship project

2013

In the same year we were also hired to come up with additional room solutions for a workship. The compact size of our 20ft offshore containers proved to be the ideal solution for this project. The three-storey solution fitted the ship perfectly while taking up minimal space – a major advantage for both our customers and the marketing of our modules. 

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Foundation of ELA Container Offshore GmbH

2014

Growing demand for mobile room solutions in the offshore segment led to the establishment of ELA Container Offshore GmbH in 2014. By entering a new, future-oriented segment, we were responding to rising demand for accommodation containers for platforms and vessels to account for the growing number of energy companies being drawn out to sea. The spatial proximity of the ELA Container Offshore GmbH premises offered synergies and a solid foundation for our future development.

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Rental fleet expansion

2015

In recent years, mobile offshore container room solutions at sea have become increasingly popular. Individual modules can be leased and returned as required. This approach offers a significant advantage when it comes to adapting to rapidly growing and changing markets. ELA Container Offshore has permanently expanded its rental fleet by concluding framework agreements with key stakeholders in all offshore segments. The technology and equipment in the modules has also been improved with the new construction of each 20ft ELA Offshore Allrounder. At present, the ELA Offshore rental fleet currently contains 1000 modules with various designs and equipment.

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ELA Container Offshore in the USA

2015/2016

We were up against a number of entirely new challenges when ELA Container Offshore USA Corp. was established. The first challenge involved finding market acceptance and suitability for our compact room solutions in the US market. A container complex with three 20ft containers, two stairways and four gangways was used as a ‘showroom’ in a separately leased warehouse. One year later we presented the container complex at an exhibition, where we received plenty of useful feedback.

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Relocation to our new office building

2016

In 2016, we moved with our team from the main ELA business premises to a new office building at Zeppelinstraße 32 in Haren, where we continue to greet our customers and business partners today. The modern office provided the space required to house our team while enabling us to collaborate more efficiently and promote our innovative strength. Relocating to a new building highlighted our commitment to growth and our vision of providing a better service for our customers.

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The 33ft ELA Offshore Premium Plus

2016

Another milestone in 2016 was the launch of the 33ft ELA Offshore Premium Plus. Successful use of this new container on an offshore converter platform demonstrated its suitability for applications in demanding environments like the North Sea. Efficient, robust and with plenty of space – the container offered maximum comfort for the staff on site. 

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Construction of the offshore production hall

2017

The new offshore production hall was constructed at the old port in Haren (Ems) back in 2017. With the new production hall, we gained not only geographical proximity to our head office but the ability to optimise our production processes in the offshore segment. This strategic decision allowed us to strengthen our production site and expand our capacities for the production of premium container solutions for the offshore sector.

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ELA Container Offshore in the Caribbean

2018

Based on the success of our US offshore venture, a company from Trinidad and Tobago reached out to us. They were looking for mobile offshore accommodation units for several projects. Following a short visit to Houston, Texas, and a viewing of the modules, the first order was placed for a number of 20ft ELA Offshore Allrounder modules, stairways and gangways. A further order for 16 33ft ELA Offshore Premium Plus containers and four stairway containers followed in the same year. The strong partnership endures to this day.

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ELA Container Offshore in Mexico

2019

With the completion of our first offshore container project in 2008, a lasting partnership developed with our customer at the time. In 2019, they got in touch with a new project. Mobile accommodation units were required for a range of projects in the Gulf of Mexico. The project initially kicked off with a small number of containers, leading up to over 100 offshore containers and equipment now being permanently leased in the Gulf.

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The 20ft ELA Offshore Light

2019

Same demand, new requirements. Our objective was to develop an optimised container type that could be used both onshore at ports and nearshore at sea. However, compared to the containers used inland, these containers would need to be able to withstand the stormier weather conditions experienced on the coast.
We got to work right away and launched the 20ft ELA Offshore Light Container soon after. By adding this new container type to our rental fleet, we were then in the position to offer our customers even more flexible solutions. 

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EU tender award

2019

In 2019, we submitted an EU tender for a major German energy company and promptly received the contract award. A total of approx. 70 33ft ELA Offshore Premium Plus containers including corresponding accessories like foundations, stairways, gangways, etc. were required for various converter platforms. We are currently working on fitting the remaining 12 containers onto the last platform.
 

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Coronavirus pandemic

2020/2021

The coronavirus pandemic created an entirely new set of challenges for our business. Demand for single occupancy accommodation modules at sea rose sharply. Why? Any outbreak of covid on a vessel would result in a total loss. The law also mandated a ban on direct personal contact. As a result, it would no longer be possible to have two members of staff in each accommodation unit. We we able to quickly provide additional temporary ‘mobile cabins’ with our offshore containers to help significantly curb the issue. 

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Expansion of the offshore production hall

2022/2023

In 2022 and 2023, we spruced up our offshore production hall by doubling it in size. Construction is now complete and we’ve got the green light for the next stage in our exciting journey. Thanks to the expansion, we have more space to improve our capacities and offer our customers even better solutions. With 7200 m² at our disposal, innovation is taking place on a large scale.

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10-years anniversary

2024

When we started out, who would have thought we’d be here celebrating our 10th anniversary? It wouldn’t have been possible for us to reach this milestone without the long-standing commitment of our partners, suppliers and customers. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our deepest thanks. We couldn’t be more proud of all the things we have achieved together and look forward to our continued partnership and growth moving ahead. Here’s to our partnerships and the future challenges we will successfully navigate together!

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Facts
30 employees

Our 30-person team ensures smooth processes and continually develops our products and services.

1,000 rental containers

With 1,000 rental containers in stock, the rapid availability of our offshore modules is guaranteed at all times.

7,200 m² production area

Our container solutions are manufactured for the global market on 7,200 m² in our production hall in Haren (Ems), Germany.

45 international exhibitions

We have been present at 45 international exhibitions to showcase our industry-leading solutions.

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