Industrial Enterprises News

Tidewater Transportation and Terminals said it recently added Aaron Degodny as its new Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer. As part of Tidewater’s executive leadership team, Degodny will focus on establishing strategic partnerships in new markets, expanding and strengthening client relationships, and extending the regional and global footprint of Tidewater, the largest barge transportation and terminal network on the Columbia-Snake River system. He will have direct oversight and responsibility for business development, sales and marketing, public relations and media.

Hoover Ferguson Group (Hoover Ferguson), the global leader in container, workspace and packaging solutions for the energy and petrochemical industries and general industrial enterprises, has acquired the rights and obligations of Uniteam Holding AS’s (Uniteam’s) offshore container rental business. The transaction, which includes a specified fleet of standard and customized offshore containers in Norway and Malaysia, increases Hoover Ferguson’s established portfolio within the Norwegian oil and gas market and strengthens the Group’s footprint in Asia. Hoover Ferguson’s Norwegian management team will continue to lead Uniteam’s operations, supporting its customer base through the transitional period.

Pilot project pioneering laser repair works for the metal parts of ships and vessels has been launched in Russia's Primorsky Territory, reports Sputnik. The technology of laser reordering of metallic parts in Russia's Primorye Territory was developed by the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) jointly with the Far Eastern Federal University and the Vladivostok-based ship-repairing center Dalzavod. Robot complexes will be equipped with high-power lasers which will allow overlaying repair coats of different metals on faulty parts automatically, fully restoring the operational integrity of separate units, the RAS Far Eastern branch said. "With the use of lasers, coats of various metals will be put on broken parts to fully restore them.

Wilhelmsen Maritime Services (WMS) says it has signed a letter of intent with the Nordic private equity fund FSN Capital to establish a joint venture within engineered solutions, equipment and services to the maritime and offshore markets currently trading under the business area Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions. The new company, to be owned 50% each by Wilhelmsen Maritime Services (WMS) and FSN Capital, comprises the business within HVAC, insulation, electrical and automation including the brands Callenberg, TI Marine Contracting and newly acquired IES Ltd. The new company, to be established on book value, had an annual revenue of USD 203 million in 2013 and will employ some 1 000 people in 15 countries.

To avoid major accidents, safety barriers are critical to stop accident pathways before they become serious, and they need to be treated accordingly. This has to be reflected in operations and ideally in regulations. If not, safety barriers which often address rare events might lose the everyday battle for attention among all the safety and production systems in daily use, leaving a company with fictional barriers and false sense of security. At the OTC session for safety and environmental management systems, a paper was presented by DNV’s Dr. Robin Pitblado and Dr.

If towboats and barges hurtled passed the average American on their way to work every morning, the industry would be better known. If commuters had to deal with failed locks the way they have to deal with congested freeways, political support for the river industry’s infrastructure would be easier to come by. Instead, towing vessels and their crews go about their work in relative obscurity. The general public sees towboats and barges as historic relics from Sam Clemens’ time and less so an integral part of the modern American economy.

Hit hard by the global financial and economic crisis in the year 2009, the Port of Hamburg reports total cargo-handling figures of 28.6 million tons for the first quarter of 2010, an increase of 4.6 per cent over the same period in the previous year. On the import side, Port of Hamburg Marketing – the marketing organisation of the Port of Hamburg – recorded cargo-handling figures of 16.7 million tons (+6.0 per cent). Exports via Hamburg also increased in comparison with the first quarter of 2009, with a total of 11.9 million tons (+2.7 per cent). General cargo handling, the dominant segment in Hamburg, returned to growth (1.1 per cent) with a total of 18.6 million tons.

Wärtsilä has signed a letter of intent with China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) to set up a 50/50 joint venture to manufacture marine auxiliary engines in China. The location of the new factory will be in the Shanghai area. The intention is to start the production of the defined Auxpac W20 generating sets for the growing shipbuilding market in China and to sell these through Wärtsilä global network. Auxiliary engines are used for producing electricity in ships. The parties aim to finalize the negotiations during the first half of 2005. China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) is one of the largest groups in China in the field of design, manufacture and trade of military and merchant ships, marine engineering and marine equipment.

Vosper Thornycroft (VT), has been selected to enter contract negotiations with Elefsis Shipbuilding and Industrial Enterprises for the supply of three 203 ft. (62 m) fast attack craft to the Hellenic Navy. With negotiations beginning soon, work is expected to start early next year with VT providing design, construction support and the ship's equipment to Elefsis in a contract worth about $331 million. The initial requirement is for a trio of craft with a possible follow-on order of at least four vessels.

The ground breaking ceremony which officially starts the construction work took place in China on the generating set factory jointly owned by Wärtsilä and Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute, an underlying company of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC). The factory, which got the name Wärtsilä Qiyao Diesel Company Ltd. (Shanghai) will be located in the Shanghai area and will initially manufacture Wärtsilä Auxpac W20 diesel generating sets, which will be sold through Wärtsilä's global sales network. Production will start up in early summer 2006. "Our goal is to boost Wärtsilä's share of the ship genset market. The focus for shipbuilding is firmly in Asia and shipbuilding in China is expanding at an extremely fast rate.