Damen Chairman meets Romanian Minister of Economy
Chairman and owner of Damen Shipyards Group Kommer DAMEN has held a meeting with the Romanian Minister of Economy Dănuţ Andruşcă to discuss the future of the DAMEN Shipyards Mangalia, the company said in its press release.
Following Damen Shipyards Group’s acquisition of the shares of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries on 20 July 2018, DAMEN has been responsible for the operational management of the yard, which has been renamed DAMEN Shipyards Mangalia. As such, Damen Shipyards Group and the Romanian Government are now joint venture partners.
The meeting between Mr DAMEN and Mr Andruşcă was held at the headquarters of the Romanian Ministry of Economy. Subjects discussed included the trusting partnership underpinning the association between DAMEN and newly acquired shipyard. Furthermore it was stressed that the naval industry is of strategic interest to Romania, and it is expected that the relationship between the Romanian Ministry of Economy and Damen Shipyards Group will allow the Romanian shipbuilding industry to develop to its full potential.
“The Mangalia site is very important for the DAMEN group because it allows them to diversify their range of products, especially with regard to the large-scale shipbuilding with high added value such as cruise ships,” said Mr Andruşcă.
“The most important information I received from Mr. DAMEN is about the future of the workforce on the site,” he said, referring to DAMEN intentions to expand the workforce at the yard to a minimum of 3,000 employees in some years.
Following the meeting, Mr DAMEN commented: “We are grateful for this opportunity to personally thank Mr Andruşcă for the Ministry’s stamina and perseverance, and the mutually trusting relationships our teams have sustained throughout this process. Furthermore, in addition to offering improved working conditions to our Romanian workforce, we also discussed improving the social amenities through refurbishing and upgrading the shipyard’s canteen and accommodation facilities.”
“Considering the yard’s current condition, we face a challenging period,” Mr DAMEN continued. “However, with the continuous full support of the Romanian Government and the commercial opportunities matching our strategic vision, we are confident that the financial health of the yard can be restored and levels of employment increased.”
Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 35 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 12,000 people worldwide. DAMEN has delivered more than 6,000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 160 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept DAMEN is able to guarantee consistent quality.
Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, DAMEN vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.
Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.
For nearly all vessel types DAMEN offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. DAMEN also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, winches, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.
Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has a worldwide network of eighteen repair and conversion yards of which twelve are located in North West Europe. Facilities at the yards include more than 50 floating and (covered) drydocks, the largest of which is 420 x 90 metres, as well as slopes, ship lifts and indoor halls. Projects range from the smallest simple repairs through Class’ maintenance to complex refits and the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1,300 repair and maintenance jobs annually, both at yards as well as in ports and during voyage.
