Govert Hamers News

Kjeld Dittmann, the Managing Director of Lyngsø Marine A/S, is the new Chairman of the European Ships and Maritime Equipment Association (SEA Europe). He succeeds Govert Hamers, CEO of Vanderlande Industries in the Netherlands, who has completed his term as Chairman. The announcement was made at the SEA Europe Annual General Meeting in Istanbul on June 26 hosted by the Turkish Association of Ship Industrialists (full member of SEA Europe). “SEA Europe has established a strong voice in Brussels for both Europe’s shipyards and equipment suppliers…

A call for sustained innovation and an ‘international level playing field’ on environmental regulation greeted global maritime and offshore business leaders today, as Melanie Schultz van Haegen, Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment of the Netherlands opened Europort 2013 at Ahoy Rotterdam. Addressing an invited audience that included ambassadors and shipowners from around the world, as well as trade mission delegations from China, Russia and Brazil, Mrs. Schultz said the challenges facing the sector needed frontrunners who want to innovate. “We need pioneers.” she said.

Two weeks before the doors open at Europort, Rotterdam, organizer Ahoy is finalizing arrangements for the event that promises to provide a benchmark for the “state of the global maritime and offshore industry” in late 2013. Alongside attendees at its Advanced Technology Conferences industry seminars and networking opportunities, over 1,000 exhibitors will be present at Europort 2013, which takes place November 5-8 at Ahoy Rotterdam. This year, companies from 39 countries will participate, with international organizations accounting for 45% of all exhibitors. “Technical innovators will populate all 10 of the Ahoy exhibition halls”, said Raymond Siliakus, Europort Exhibition Manager.

IHC Merwede and T-Rubber announced that they have strengthened their ongoing business relationship with an extension to the Purchasing Cooperation Agreement between the two companies. The signing of this agreement for the supply of rubber hoses was arranged to coincide with the visit of a delegation from T-Rubber to Europe at the beginning of June for the Wodcon XX congress and exhibition in Brussels. Govert Hamers, the President of IHC Merwede, and Ren Fan, the General Director of T-Rubber, acted on behalf of their respective companies and completed the formalities on Thursday, June 6.

The European Ships and Maritime Equipment Association (SEA Europe) has announced that IHC Merwede’s President, Govert Hamers, will succeed Lars Gørvell-Dahll as Chairman in October 2013. Mr. Gørvell-Dahll’s will step down midway through his tenure to become the Managing Director of the maritime arm of the Federation of Norwegian Industries. SEA Europe was jointly founded in Brussels last year by European shipbuilders, ship repairers and maritime suppliers. The Association brings together the Community of European Shipyards Associations (CESA) and the European Marine Equipment Council (EMEC).

Indofin Group, the investment company, owned by the De Bruin family, has acquired a majority shareholding of 62% in IHC Merwede. Rabo Capital (10%) and IHC Merwede management and staff (28%) are the other principal shareholders. Indofin has obtained this significant stake in IHC Merwede by partially taking out each of its coshareholders. Indofin’s Chairman, Cees de Bruin, said, “We have already been a shareholder of this great company for eight years and we are in full support of the current direction that continues to pay off. Rabo Capital has also taken this opportunity to announce that it has reached its strategic goal with IHC Merwede.

IHC Merwede announced that it has recently secured orders to the value of €125 million for a wide range of new cutter suction dredgers (CSDs) and related equipment. The latest sales agreements confirmed by the company include a new custom-built CSD and a further 12 units that will be supplied by IHC Beaver Dredgers. The contract for the custom-built CSD has been entrusted to IHC Merwede by Huta Marine Works for the design, engineering and construction of an innovative self-propelled vessel.

IHC Merwede has revealed a healthy net profit margin of 4.1% in 2012 and a positive sales forecast for the year ahead. The company develops and builds vessels, equipment and life-cycle support services for the dredging, mining and offshore industries, which have been performing well – despite the global economic situation and the knock-on effect for the maritime industry. In 2012, IHC Merwede reached a revenue of €895 million and a net profit of €37 million. After the exceptional years of 2010 and 2011, the revenue and profitability were lower last year.

IHC Merwede extended its product range with the introduction of a new series of IHC Packhorse offshore support vessels at an official launch event in Singapore, organized by IHC Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of IHC Merwede. This latest development reinforces the company’s internationalization strategy, which aims to provide a choice of designs and build locations to its customers on a global basis. The range of vessels consists of: the IHC Packhorse which has been positioned as a platform support vessel (PSV)…

IHC Merwede has received a silver certificate for its health policy for employees. This prestigious certificate was issued by the International Institute for Health Management and Quality (IHMQ) following an extensive health audit of the company. Health management at IHC Merwede refers to the rules, measures and arrangements that are set up in order to enable employees to work well, in a healthy and responsible way, and has long-term benefits. IHC Merwede has appointed a health manager…

IHC Merwede to showcase its dredging, wet mining, and special purpose ships at forthcoming SMM 2012, Hamburg, Expo. A number of impressive scale models will demonstrate the wide range of innovative vessels engineered and manufactured by IHC Merwede. Vessels such as the custom-built trailing suction hopper dredger CONGO RIVER; the self-propelled cutter suction dredger ATHENA; the pipelaying vessel SEVEN PACIFIC; and the well intervention vessel WELL ENHANCER. IHC Merwede will also feature examples of advanced equipment designed to meet the demands of the dredging, mining and offshore sectors.

IHC Merwede’s expanding portfolio has helped it to record increased revenue and profit figures for 2011, and to maintain its strong order book for 2012 and beyond. In the past year, IHC Merwede’s revenue has increased by four per cent to reach € 1.05 billion. The company’s net profit has also increased to € 103 million with a solvency ratio of 40 percent, demonstrating that IHC Merwede is in strong financial health and able to implement its growth strategy. With sales amounting to € 1.057 billion, IHC Merwede assured itself of a substantial order book of € 1.18 billion – the equivalent of more than one year’s workload. Internationalization continues to be an important priority for IHC Merwede, as it succeeds in reducing costs and meeting the needs of its markets.

A ceremony for the largest ever working capital guarantee issued by Atradius Dutch State Business – on behalf of the Dutch Government – took place on April 5, 2012 at IHC Merwede’s shipyard in Krimpen aan den IJssel. With this finance agreement in place, IHC Merwede will start work on the construction of two pipe-laying vessels for its Malaysian customer SapuraCrest. The ships are part of a recent offshore order worth €450 million and will install flexible pipelines in Brazilian waters, where large quantities of oil have been discovered. The delivery dates for the vessels, which will be built in The Netherlands, have been set for May and August, 2014, respectively.

IHC Merwede is pleased to announce that it has recently secured orders for advanced vessels and equipment in its core markets of dredging and offshore to the value of €200million. The latest agreements confirmed by IHC Merwede include: a new pipelaying vessel for Subsea 7; a trailing suction hopper dredger for Weeks Marine Inc. (USA); an environmentally friendly deepwater dredger for Zheijang Dredging (China); and a 5,000-tonne capacity carousel-lay system for Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. These orders further reinforce the group’s belief that there will be continued demand for its innovative vessels, advanced equipment and life-cycle support in the future.

IHC Merwede appointed Denis Welch as its CEO for South East Asia. He will be responsible for helping the company to reinforce its regional identity and expand its Asian-centred operations – which are focussed on its offshore and marine activities. IHC Merwede President Govert Hamers says: “Mr Welch’s appointment will assist the company in strengthening its strategy of internationalisation. We have successfully operated from our regional organisation in Singapore for the past four years and are in the process of opening new offices in the PSA building on Alexandra Road to support our ambitions of growth. Singapore is one of the many countries in which IHC Merwede operates.

IHC Merwede strengthens its internationalisation strategy with new CEO for South East Asia. IHC Merwede, a global maritime, engineering and manufacturing group, has appointed Denis Welch as its CEO for South East Asia. He will be responsible for helping the company to reinforce its regional identity and expand its Asian-centred operations – which are focused on its offshore and marine activities. IHC Merwede President Govert Hamers says: “Mr Welch’s appointment will assist the company in strengthening its strategy of internationalisation.

IHC Merwede and BAE Systems will enter into a cooperation agreement to meet the demands of the offshore construction vessel market in the USA. This cooperation enables IHC Merwede to enter new markets, which is in line with the company’s internationalization strategy. The partnership also allows BAE Systems to increase vessel new construction in its commercially focused shipyards. According to the agreement, IHC Merwede, as a main contractor, will be responsible for the design and build of the vessels. The Dutch company has gained a reputation as a pioneer in the offshore industry.