Schat-Harding Launches KISS Offshore System

Schat-Harding has launched the first in a new series of simple, easy-to-maintain and space-saving boats and davits for the offshore and merchant marine industries. The KISS700 50-person lifeboat and FAD7 davit, specifically targeted at the offshore industry, will be on show at OTC, Houston. Keep it Safe and Simple (KISS) is the philosophy behind the new system, and the same philosophy will eventually be used to revise Schat-Harding's entire range of conventional and freefall systems. The KISS700 boat and FAD7 davits offer a new conventional boat design, a new davit design, with new hooks and winches. The benefits of the KISS system are savings in weight, savings in space, increased and simplified functionality and reduced maintenance. Dag Ellingsen, KISS project leader for Schat-Harding, says, "This is the most important new product ever introduced by Schat-Harding, and it meets a real need in the offshore industry. There is a real demand for simpler, lighter, more cost-effective boats and davits. We have used our experience and new technology to optimize this design in a way which saves both weight and space, which are at a premium on offshore units. We use sophisticated technology to produce simple, safe, solutions." The KISS700 totally enclosed boat is built of FRP with a capacity of 50 persons. It is 6.54 m long, and weighs 2750 kg fully equipped. It occupies 20 percent less space than current systems of the same capacity and also weighs 20 percent less. Maintenance will be 20 percent less too, with cassette replacement of parts and simplified systems. The KISS700 and FAD7 will be in production during the summer of 2001, initially for the offshore market. Schat-Harding is the world's leading supplier of lifesaving and evacuation systems for the offshore, cruise, and shipping industries. With factories and offices in Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, Canada and the USA, it has a global service and supply network. Schat-Harding is a member of Norway's Umoe Group.