Manufacturing Footprint News

Ocean Craft Marine (OCM), a builder of boats for military, law enforcement and first responder maritime end-users, announced the expansion of its manufacturing capabilities and footprint in Maryland.According to OCM, the decision to expand its manufacturing capabilities comes in response to increasing demand. The move positions OCM to proactively cater to large contracts from the U.S. Navy (NAVSEA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the company said.“We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our manufacturing capabilities in Maryland,” said Roy Nouhra, CEO of Ocean Craft Marine.

Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa said Monday it planned to build a major offshore nacelle manufacturing facility in New York state. The construction of the plant depends on Siemens Gamesa's wind turbines being selected by the New York authorities in their third offshore wind solicitation. The planned facility would be located at the Port of Coeymans. According to Siemens Gamesa, the facility would create up to about 420 direct jobs, support a significant rise in indirect jobs and represent an investment of around $500 million in the region.

Tim Clerc’s maritime career spans half a century, starting with his cadet training in 1969 in the U.K. He sees hybrid technology as one of the most transformational technological developments in maritime in that span, and the company is currently awaiting its 10th hybrid, the Seacor Yangtze. Clerc discusses the hybrid strategy and offers some practical insights.If you had to pick one technology that you think has made the business of running ships more efficient, more cost effective…

Hempel's new Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Katarina Lindström officially stepped into her new role on August 1.As a member of the company’s Executive Management Board, Lindström will play a central role in driving Hempel’s strategy. The company has an ambition to double in size in the next five years, and Lindström will lead Hempel’s strategic agenda within operational excellence, innovation and sustainability.“The company’s growth strategy is very ambitious, but also realistic and Hempel has a strong desire to lead sustainability in the coatings industry,” she says.

How do you see business today, and where is Cummins looking for opportunities as COVID-19 and volatile oil markets generate market uncertainty?Even in the current state, we are still seeing a solid level of interest and activity in the commercial marine space. Scheduling has been impacted and some areas have slowed down, but overall, the marine industry is very much still active around the world. When we take a closer look at some of the segments within the commercial marine space, differences begin to emerge.

Katarina Lindström will join Hempel as Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer from August 1, 2020 as the coatings manufacturer aims to double in size.As Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer (COO), Katarina Lindström will be a member of Hempel’s Executive Management Board.As part of its long-term growth strategy, Hempel is making significant investments in innovation and sustainability, while strengthening its supply chain and manufacturing footprint, particularly in Asia-Pacific.

French cables manufacturer Nexans has signed a framework agreement with Denmark’s global offshore wind giant Ørsted A/S and New England utility Eversource Energy to take part in the offshore wind farm development in North America.According to the provider of cabling and connectivity solutions, the agreement will reinforce their long-term partnership and will result in Nexans having the opportunity to provide up to 1,000 km of subsea high voltage export cables for Ørsted’s offshore wind farms in North America.The first delivery is expected by 2022 and the agreement extends until 2027, it said.“Our partnership with Ørsted and Eversource will accelerate the energy transition in North America and bring Nexans’ industry-leading subsea cable technology to the U.S.…

French cable company Nexans said that  it has been awarded a full turnkey contract worth more than $113m  for the manufacturing, delivery and installation of 350 kV HVDC submarine cable in the Philippines.Nexans has been awarded a full turnkey contract for the submarine link of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) launched by National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).To optimise the delivery of the submarine cabling system for the MVIP to connect the three power grids of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao into one unified national grid, Nexans will leverage on its global manufacturing footprint.The 350 kV submarine MI cable will be manufactured in Nexans' Nippon High Voltage Cable Corporation plant in Futtsu, Japan as well as in Nexans Norway plant in Halden.

Rolls-Royce. The words have been used by many to signify excellence – though not with the company’s permission, of course. Rolls-Royce Marine is taking a leading position in developing and introducing the systems and technologies needed for the running of a successful business in the maritime industry of the 21st century. At a company presentation held in London earlier this year, Mikael Mäkinen, President of Rolls-Royce Marine, outlined the company’s vision for the future and its strategies to put these new systems based on new technologies into place.

ABB announced today it will start production of robots in the United States, making it the first global industrial robotics company to fully commit to and invest in a North American robotics manufacturing footprint. The company made the announcement at the opening of a new robotics plant at an existing facility in Auburn Hills, Michigan, where it already has about 500 highly skilled employees. Production is to commence immediately. The new plant is ABB’s third robotics production facility, alongside Shanghai, China, and Västerås, Sweden, and will manufacture ABB robots and related equipment for the North American market. The United States is ABB’s largest market with US$7.5 billion in sales.

Caterpillar Inc. today announced its third-quarter results, in which it reported profit per share of $1.63 for the third quarter of 2014, an increase from third-quarter 2013 profit per share of $1.45. The third quarter of 2014 included a negative impact of $0.09 per share for restructuring costs. Excluding restructuring costs, third-quarter 2014 profit per share was $1.72. Third-quarter 2014 sales and revenues were $13.549 billion, up from $13.423 billion in the third quarter of 2013.

Kito Americas, Inc. announced today that the company has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire Peerless Industrial Group from Westview Capital Partners II, L. P. by purchasing all the shares of Peerless Industrial Group, Inc. The share transfer of Peerless shall be executed subject to the terms and conditions in the Stock Purchase Agreement. Kito Americas, Inc. currently operates Harrington Hoists, Inc. and Kito Canada (KCI) businesses in North America and is the largest subsidiary of the Kito Corporation of Japan. Kito is listed on the Tokyo Stock exchange (TSE1) under the stock ticker 6409. Kito Americas will, by combining with Peerless, expand its product to better serve its customer segments around the world and strengthen its North American business.

The business of major British work boat company South Boats Special Projects Limited has been sold out of administration – saving a significant number of jobs on the Isle of Wight. A manufacturer of service vessels for the offshore wind power industry, which is based out of Cowes on the Isle of Wight, has been bought for an undisclosed sum by Alicat Workboats Limited. Joint-administrators David Clements and Richard Toone from national accountancy firm and corporate recovery specialists Chantrey Vellacott DFK and asset valuations and sales agents SIA Group managed the sale. David Clements, partner and restructuring specialist at Chantrey Vellacott DFK…

The Code of Practice consists of five parts including; material testing, container selection, container labelling, incident management and training. Following a process of review, implementation and audit, Trans Ocean became the very first flexitank operator in the industry to submit all documents to the COA, including independent audit reports where required. “This is a significant milestone, and the path leading to this achievement has been both interesting and challenging”, said Brendan McKenna, Hillebrand Group Board Member.

Titan Wind Energy (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. is China’s largest global manufacturer of wind turbine towers and already a long standing supplier to leading turbine manufacturers including Vestas. The acquisition of the towers factory in Varde will establish Titan Wind Energy’s global manufacturing footprint in Europe, while also maintaining a vast majority of the approximately 120 jobs at the factory in Varde. •    About 120 highly specialised ”greentech” jobs are maintained in Varde, Denmark. •    The facility in Varde is ideally positioned to support the further globalisation of Titan Wind Energy’s operations. Going forward, both Titan Wind Energy and Vestas say they see a huge potential in the continued cooperation.

Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) announced that it will consolidate a portion of its aluminum boat production within its current manufacturing footprint as part of its ongoing efforts to be more agile and responsive to marine market demand. "For the past several years, we have worked hard to institute more flexibility into our boat-making capabilities," explained Brunswick Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dustan E. McCoy. "We have been steadily moving toward category-type production that focuses more on models and segments, rather than the traditional approach of having manufacturing facilities dedicated to a particular brand. Pursuing such a strategy…

Wärtsilä has analysed its manufacturing footprint as announced in October. To adjust to the fundamental changes in the market Wärtsilä plans to reduce its manufacturing capacity. Wärtsilä also plans to move the majority of its propeller production and auxiliary engine production to China, close to the main marine markets. The current propeller manufacturing in Drunen, and the component manufacturing DTS in Zwolle, both in The Netherlands, are planned to be closed. The Wärtsilä 20 generating set production in Vaasa Finland is planned to be closed and moved to China in order to stay competitive in this market. In the course of 2010 Wärtsilä plans to reduce approximately 1,400 jobs globally within the Group. Of these reductions 570 are planned to be in the Netherlands.

Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) announced on Jan. 6 that it will mothball its Riverview boat manufacturing facility near Knoxville, Tenn., and take additional actions aimed at reducing its work force, production and expenses. One of three manufacturing facilities in the Knoxville area, Riverview makes Sea Ray boats and will wind down production during the first quarter of the year. To better utilize Brunswick's overall boat making capacity, production at Riverview will be moved to nearby plants in Knoxville and Vonore, Tenn., which will remain in operation. In addition, production of certain models will be transferred to Brunswick's Palm Coast manufacturing facility in Florida, and a Brunswick plant in Reynosa, Mexico.

On Nov. 13, Brunswick Corporation (NYSE:BC) announced that it will transfer production of Trophy offshore fishing boats made at its plant in Cumberland, Md., to another Brunswick facility in Ashland City, Tenn. The shift will precipitate ceasing production at the Cumberland manufacturing facility by the end of 2008, eliminating approximately 115 production and support positions. "As we deal with the global economic downturn and its impact on recreational marine markets, we are continuing to shrink our North American manufacturing footprint," Dustan E. McCoy, Brunswick chairman and chief executive officer, said. "This decision is no reflection upon the Cumberland work force or product, but the result of our need to develop a more efficient manufacturing footprint.