Manufacturing Arm News

Inspecting fuel and ballast tanks. Sand-blasting old paint coatings and applying new ones. Removing corrosion on ships, submarines, aircraft and other vehicles.These are some of the unpleasant jobs in naval shipyards and maintenance facilities that could be made safer by pairing human workers with robots. Experts say this could improve the speed and efficiency with which the U.S. Navy sustains its assets—and expand the career paths of current workers (and create new jobs) by teaching them to operate…

“If consolidation was the solution to all that ails shipping, then container liner companies would be super profitable. They are not. In ‘commoditized’ sectors of the shipping industry, which by now includes pretty much everything apart from very small niche markets, there is hardly any economies of scale at the company level. As long as bigger is not in fact much better, then meaningful consolidation will not happen.”Dr. Roar Adland, visiting scholar at MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics and Professor at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).Like any other business…

UK’s Teignbridge Propellers score Middle East first with launch of new manufacturing arm; targets Africa, Asia and the Arab world In a first for the region, UK-headquartered Teignbridge Propellers International today unveiled plans to establish a manufacturing base in Dubai in order to support its existing operation and tap into new markets across the region and beyond. The UAE’s geographical location and established infrastructure is attracting high profile international maritime support companies looking to capitalise on first mover access to growth markets across Africa…

The work done at Catepillar’s Kiel Engine Center in Kiel, Germany, during the manufacturing process for MaK and Cat engines up to 16,000 kW is now being recognized through an environmental protection award. In June, Caterpillar Motoren, the manufacturing arm focused on the production of MaK and Cat engines for marine, petroleum and power generation applications, was awarded an Environmental Award from the Economic Association of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state in Germany.

HBH, Inc., Woodson Construction Company and the Kori Corporation were recently sold to Sunland Construction, Inc., of Eunice, LA. The three Louisiana based divisions were involved in transitional zone pipe lay and construction work, with the Kori Corp. being the manufacturing arm building undercarriages and assembling marsh buggies for their worldwide market. except real property at the Delcambre, and Lafayette facilities. Also excluded from the sale is the 1995 built 260 x 72-ft. pipelay / bury barge "BH-400", which remains available for sale. Sunland Construction, Inc. is a pipeline construction company serving the needs of major oil and gas companies throughout the Southeast, Central and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States.

K-Sea Transportation Partners LP, said it signed a $40m contract extension for barge construction with the manufacturing arm of American Commercial Lines. The company said the construction of four 50,000 barrel tank barges will begin in first quarter of 2009, with delivery of the first vessel scheduled for December of that year. The three other vessels will be completed in three month increments after that, K-Sea said. The contract extends the barge construction agreement through 2010. Source: AP