Industry Supplier News

Two Belgian companies - Aerospace industry supplier SABCA and DEME Offshore - have formed a partnership to use drones for inspection services in the offshore wind energy industry.SABCA, a leading tier 1 aerospace industry supplier and DEME Offshore, a worldwide leader in solutions and services for the offshore energy market, have entered into a partnership for the development and deployment of Unmanned Vehicles to perform surveillance and inspection works in the offshore industry.Complementing each other’s core experience and know-how, both companies are convinced that these innovative, advanced technologies have a game-changing potential to increase health and safety of their employees…

The Switch is targeting growth of 200 percent within the marine segment in the next five years, building on the momentum of a flurry of recent orders, its acquisition of Wartsila Drives and the financial muscle of its parent company, the EUR 3.3 billion turnover Yaskawa Electric Corporation. The Finnish headquartered business, a specialist in the development and supply of advanced drive train solutions, believes its permanent magnet (PM) and frequency converter technology can have the same transformational effect on marine as it has had in wind.

Sometimes being an industry supplier offers interesting insights – your business is touched by the ups and downs of the charter market, but you are never so involved in it that you lose sight of the big picture. Some of our clients have been hit hard by the market’s general downturn; one client I visited last month began 2008 with 41 maritime software licenses for their vessels – just seven remain today. “We just sold another ship yesterday,” he said, and then after a pause: “Please spare me the update costs for this one, it won’t receive any.” Of course, I nodded.

France hopes to boost its nuclear industry with a biennial exhibition modeled on the Paris Air Show, although it does not expect reactor orders to pile up as fast as airplane contracts. To be held in the same Le Bourget venue as the airshow, the October 14-16 World Nuclear Exhibition (WNE) expects some 7,000 visitors will visit stands representing nearly 500 French and foreign nuclear industry companies, the organisers said on Thursday. "Obviously, it would be an illusion to expect to sign as many nuclear reactor contracts there as the airline industry does at the airshow," WNE chief Gerard Kottmann told reporters. At the 2013 Paris Air Show…

Horst Binnig was appointed CEO of Rheinmetall Automotive's parent company KSPG AG and will take over beginning January 1, 2014. As Executive Board member of Rheinmetall AG, he will also represent the interests of the automotive sector within the Rheinmetall Group. From the start of 2014 and in both these positions he is succeeding Dr. Gerd Kleinert who after 13 years of successful activities in the Rheinmetall Group is stepping down from his CEO position and enetering retirement.

High fuel prices, increasing emissions regulations and environmental concerns are driving fleets to cut expenses, emissions and waste disposal using new filter technology. With ship fleets facing spiraling fuel prices and new tougher environmental regulations from the EPA and IMO, fleet managers have had to look for new technology to control costs and emissions. One of the most promising areas to considerably cut spending while meeting all EPA and IMO regulations is reducing maintenance costs and waste production/disposal with reusable lubrication filter technology.

Mackay Communications joins Pole Star’s wide marine market network of approved distributors. Mackay will offer Pole Star’s portfolio of products and services including Fleet Management, Alert Advanced Ship Security Alert System (SSAS), Marine Asset Tracker (MAT), and LRIT conformance testing services to their customer base throughout North America. “We are extremely pleased to formalize the relationship with Mackay,” commented Duncan Halliday, Head of Distribution at Pole Star. “We look forward to growing our business in all marine verticals including deep sea, brown water and the white boat market with them. Pole Star: Pole Star is a leading provider of Fleet Management, Ship Security and Vessel Monitoring systems to the maritime industry.

The USS Freedom, commissioned into active service on Nov. 8 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is the first of the U.S. Navy’s new class of agile, high-tech warships designed for fast response in shallow, coastal waters to counter threats from mines, submarines and fast surface craft. The Freedom represents a new U.S. maritime strategy and will play an important role in the Navy’s future. Pentair’s involvement with the project began three years ago when Wisconsin’s Marinette Marine Corporation was tasked with building the first of 55 ships. Marinette Marine called on Pentair to build the ship’s water filtration system, using the Everpure bromination systems. Safer and easier to use aboard ships and submarines than chlorine, Everpure bromination systems are installed aboard most U.S.