Arnout Damen, COO of Damen Shipyards Group, officially opens a new office in Norwegian Stavanger.
When asked why Dutch headquartered Damen Shipyards sets up an advanced base in Stavanger, its new Sales Manager said: “It is the European Oil & Gas capital and the place the ONS Exhibition and conferences are held. Stavanger is, so to speak, a mini-Houston”.
The opening gave Mr Hottentot a chance to show what Damen is about and in particular that it is becoming more and more active in the Offshore industry, having booked newbuilding orders for a series of four Platform Supply Vessels to be built at Damen Shipyard Galati (Romania) and another two to be built at Damen Shipyards Bergum (The Netherlands). Three Damen Ocean-going Patrol Vessels of the Holland Class were docked at Vågen, close to the office in the centre of Stavanger.
The sales manager at the new office, Remko Hottento, has an international nautical background and experience in the Offshore and LNG industries. He married to a Norwegian lady over 22 years ago, speaks the language fluently and it is therefore no surprise that he feels quite at home in Norway.
Damen offers a wide range of ships: tugs, workboats, patrol vessels, high speed crafts, dredgers, cargo vessels, PSV’s, oil-spill response vessels, patrol vessels, frigates and even mega yachts. Product design and engineering are carried out in-house and a broad range of standard designs is available. Damen’s product development policy is driven by an extensive R&D programme, customer feedback and (field) experience.
The Damen Norway office will serve all shipbuilding markets from its opening.