Divisional News

Bosch Rexroth has appointed Erwin Wieckowski, P.Eng. as the new President and CEO of Bosch Rexroth North and Central America based in Charlotte, NC, effective October 1, 2023.The role has been performed on an interim basis by Reinhard Schaefer in addition to his role as a member of the Divisional Board of Management with responsibility for Manufacturing. Schaefer will remain in the region to support the transition.“We are thrilled to have Erwin join our organization,” said Schaefer.

Savage, a global provider of industry infrastructure and supply chain services, announced the appointments of Jeff Roberts as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Tom Coler as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Both appointments will be effective Oct. 1, 2022.“We’re excited to have Jeff Roberts step into a new role as COO, where his leadership abilities, enthusiasm, and commitment to our culture and strategy will help drive ongoing growth and operational excellence across the company…

The U.S.' largest military shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries said Friday its Chief Operating Officer Chris Kastner would become HII president and chief executive officer, consistent with the company’s succession plan. The HII board also elected president and CEO Mike Petters to become executive vice-chairman of the board for a transition period. Both changes are expected to take effect on March 1.$48 billion shipbuilding backlogPetters and Kastner, who has acted over the past decade as chief financial officer…

The supply/demand balance in the subsea vessel market is shifting as activity levels rise markedly across many of the sectors these vessels support. Operators and contractors need to be decisive in securing the assets they need, according to Jonathan Lints of broker Clarksons Platou (Offshore), or they might find their ship has sailed…The opening months of 2021 have witnessed markedly positive trends in the global subsea market, as evidenced by recent increases of up to 35% in…

Arnout Damen will take over as CEO of Damen Shipyards Group effective January 1, as the the Dutch shipbuilding conglomerate transitions to a new divisional structure, the group announce on Monday.Arnout Damen succeeds René Berkvens, who has been the CEO of Damen Shipyards Group for more than 13 years."We are extremely indebted to René for his commitment as our company's top executive," said Chairman Kommer Damen. “Under his leadership, Damen has grown into a globally operating, leading player.

UK energy industry recruitment outfit ERSG has appointed Chris Stupack as head of offshore wind in the United States.Stupack will be leading ERSG's office in Boston, which opened in November last year, where the company will be focusing on supporting the development of the offshore wind market.Chris comes from a strong recruitment background having started in the industry 5 years ago, showing passion and natural aptitude he progressed quickly to a divisional head of energy with his previous employer.US offshore wind power is set to achieve 86,000 MW by 2050 and create over 36,000 full-time jobs in the next 10 years according to the American…

Associated British Ports (ABP) said that its Port of Silloth has handled the first delivery of wood pulp for its new customer, Futamura Group, a Japanese manufacturer of cellulose and polymeric films for the packaging industry who have a major production site in Cumbria.The 2,500 tonne wood pulp delivery has been imported from South America and will be transported to the company’s production site in Wigton, Cumbria, which employs around 270 people. The wood pulp will be used to make Cellophane™ and NatureFlex™, which are used primarily as packaging films for foodstuffs such as sweets, tea, coffee and snack products.Tom Ismay, Procurement Manager at Furtamura…

The guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) and the Egyptian Navy frigate El Zafer (F951) conducted a passing exercise (PASSEX), July 1. PASSEX is an exercise in which multiple ships, operating in close vicinity, practice evolutions together to improve crews' knowledge, navigation and familiarity with operability. "This was another great opportunity to work with the Egyptian Navy and continue to build, foster and solidify rapport with a maritime-military nation who shares a lot of the same interests in this area of operations," said Cmdr. John Hamilton, Dunham's commanding officer. The PASSEX commenced with Dunham and El Zafer performing divisional tactics and maneuvers. "It's good to see how they operate, and it's good for them to see how we operate," said Hamilton.

Vopak Rotterdam Botlek is investing in 63.000 cbm state-of-the-art stainless steel capacity (15 tanks) for the storage of Styrene and other hazardous chemicals. Styrene is a vital product used in manufacturing of a wide variety of consumer goods serving markets such as packaging, construction (for example isolation) and automotive. The new infrastructure will be fully insulated to allow for product temperature control and is designed to prevent any emissions to the environment. The new storage capacity connects seaborne trade flows via barges, block-trains and trucks to the European hinterland. Royal Vopak is the world’s leading independent tank storage company.

Ships from the Republic of Singapore navy, Royal Thai navy and U.S. Navy completed a three-day multilateral Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise in the South China Sea May 12. The three-day exercise included a broad spectrum of naval competencies and maritime security training aimed at enhancing cooperation and interoperability amongst the three navies. The navies are long-time maritime partners under the CARAT series, which began in 1995 with Thailand and Singapore as original participants in the exercise series. The multilateral engagement follows initiative to make some phases of the CARAT exercise series multilateral.

Pacific Partnership 2017 made its initial mission stop in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, March 7, with the arrival of Military Sealift Command expeditionary fast transport USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4). This marked the first mission to Sri Lanka in the 12-year history of the annual civil-military operation, and the Pacific Partnership mission in Sri Lanka continues through March 18 and will make follow-on mission stops in Malaysia and Vietnam. Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Asia-Pacific, and aims to enhance regional coordination in areas such as medical readiness and preparedness for man-made and natural disasters.

Fugro has been awarded a contract from INPEX Operations Australia Pty Ltd (INPEX) for subsea services to be executed across the Ichthys facilities in the Timor Sea, located approximately 220 kilometres from the coast of Western Australia. INPEX is Japan’s largest oil and gas exploration and production company. The five year contract encompasses field operations support, inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) services and will run for five years, with options to extend. Fugro will provide all services through its office in Perth. The work will be performed under Fugro's QHSE system, which is in accordance with industry leading QHSE and operational standards.

ABB has launched Stage 3 of its so-called “Next Level” strategy which aims to drive company-wide growth via four entrepreneurial divisions, while realizing the group’s full digital potential and improving operational efficiencies. “Over the last two years, ABB has become faster, leaner and more efficient. We have continuously improved margins and further strengthened our cash generation,” said ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. Effective January 1, 2017, ABB will shape its divisional structure into four divisions: Electrification Products…

The decision by A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S to split into two separate divisions - Transport & Logistics and Energy - reflects the challenging fundamentals in the sectors in which it operates, and diminishing counter-cyclical benefits of operating in them in the current economic cycle, Fitch Ratings says. We do not expect the split to significantly improve the performance of the group's separate units, although the increased focus may help long-term strategy execution. We believe operational diversification does not consistently provide material benefit to Moeller-Maersk's business profile because the industries in which the company operates are highly cyclical and volatile.

Telenor Satellite announced that is has approved the BB75 Ka-band antenna, produced by telecommunications company, Skytech, for use with Telenor’s new THOR 7 Ka-band payload. Skytech is the latest antenna supplier to receive approval from Telenor Satellite for its recently launched THOR 7 Ka-band services. The antenna – approximately 75cm in diameter, compact in design, and weighing only 35 Kgs – is a new product from Skytech, optimised for use with Telenor Satellite’s Ka-band maritime spot beams. With up to 20Mbits of bandwidth, the BB75 Ka-band model is an attractive mid-sized antenna, designed for maritime Ka-band users who require high-speed connections and large bandwidths on board yachts, passenger ferries, and commercial and support vessels.

Telenor Satellite has announced that its Ka-band satellite capacity packages for land-based services in the Middle East have surpassed initial expectations, reaching more than 200 terminals within the first six months of commercial operation. Telenor Satellite commercially launched its iDirect land-based services for the Middle East and North Africa in Q4, 2015, via its new THOR 7 satellite. Since the launch, more and more customers throughout the Middle East region have contracted our land-based services packages, specifically in countries where there is limited fibre connectivity and satellite is the preferred distribution platform for vital and reliable communication links.

Rolls-Royce is today announcing a new senior management structure as the first step in the wide-ranging restructuring announced on 12 November 2015. The move will simplify the organisation, drive operational excellence and reduce cost; ensuring Rolls-Royce is better placed to deliver long-term profitable growth. The current divisional structure of Aerospace and Land & Sea will end, removing a layer of senior management. From 1 January 2016, Rolls-Royce will operate as five market facing businesses, with the Presidents of Civil Aerospace, Defence Aerospace, Marine, Nuclear and Power Systems reporting directly to the Chief Executive. Our Civil Aerospace business will comprise of our merged Civil Large Engines (CLE) and our Civil Small and Medium Engines (CSME) businesses.

Wondering What to Trim? Look to the skies: billions in offshore savings may be orchestrated from the back office. For many managers (and analysts), sales, general and administrative costs, or SG&A, are ordinary accounting lines on an offshore services company’s ledger. Less ordinary — less known — is that a sizable chunk of the “A” in SG&A are travel costs that can be better managed. A recent restructuring-focused Deloitte report suggested that SG&A costs might be the wisest costs to shed without thwarting operations. For offshore suppliers, the wisest SG&A costs to shed might just be travel costs. Examining SG&A for offshore outfits produces some interesting travel numbers…

Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. (Boskalis) achieved net profit of EUR 490 million in 2014. Revenue rose by 1 per cent to EUR 3.2 billion (2013: EUR 3.1 billion). EBITDA rose by 25 per cent to EUR 946 million (2013: EUR 757 million) and the operating result (EBIT) was up 41 per cent at EUR 652 million (2013: EUR 463 million). Across the board, 2014 was an operationally strong year with in addition a large number of exceptional items for a total amount on balance of EUR 200 million before tax. All three segments achieved a sharply higher result compared to 2013. Dredging & Inland Infra had a busy year with good fleet utilization, good project margins and substantial settlement results on old projects. Offshore Energy also had a good year with high fleet utilization and good project margins.

Liebherr Maritime Cranes celebrated the grand opening of the new sales and service center in Durban, South Africa. The new African maritime hub was opened by a number of guests from the local industry and Liebherr representatives. Mainly as a result of the close cooperation with Transnet over the past few years, Liebherr-Africa (LAF) has decided to extend its activities and to establish a specialized maritime hub in Durban. Transnet operates more than 60 Liebherr cranes, 13 mobile harbor cranes, 31 ship to shore container cranes and 18 rubber tyre gantry cranes.

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has been awarded a valuable order from long-standing partner Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) to supply cargo handling equipment for general cargo and intermodal operation at the ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG terminals at Wolfurt, Wels and Wien Süd in Austria. The order was booked into Cargotec's 2015 second quarter order intake, with delivery scheduled to be completed by the fourth quarter. The range of equipment includes seven Kalmar Gloria reachstackers for intermodal handling, three Kalmar TT 618i terminal tractors and one Kalmar DCG 160-12 forklift. All of the machines come with an all-inclusive Kalmar Care maintenance contract and service support provided by Kalmar Austria.

DGS Marine, a global P&I management provider and exclusive manager for the British European and Overseas (BE&O) P&I Facility, has advised Indian shipowners to consider the benefits of fixed premium P&I cover. DGS Marine spoke at a P&I Insurance Seminar held in Mumbai, India last week and jointly hosted by DGS Marine Group and the British European and Overseas (BE&O) P&I Facility. Attended by delegates from across India’s shipping community, the seminar examined a range of shipping-related legal and insurance issues…

Bollinger Shipyards President and CEO Ben Bordelon announced today another key internal promotion designed to enhance the strategic value of the Company. “I am pleased to announce the promotion of Chris Remont to Vice President and General Manager of our Lockport New Construction division (BLN). Bordelon went on to say “Chris joined Bollinger in May 2014 as Director of Program Management overseeing all aspects of Program Management at BLN. Since that time, he has proven himself to be a key resource in solidifying relationships with our customer and in achieving our divisional objectives.