Turku Shipyard Case Study

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Once again, Turku shipyard gets an order worth billions. The CEO of the shipyard to HS: “We offer know-how that can’t be found elsewhere”
When CEO and owner Jan Meyer first arrived at Turku shipyard, he saw old machines and hopeful people. Now the situation of the shipyard is, according to him, “pretty amazing”.
CEO of Turku shipyard Jan Meyer says that the shipyard has emerged as a winner by offering know-how that can’t be found elsewhere. Shipyard has announced four new, huge cruise ship orders in the last month.
“Turku shipyard can’t be the cheapest option. We have to offer something that our competitors are unable to provide”, Meyer says.
Meyer’s family bought the almost bankrupt Turku shipyard little more than two years. The company …show more content…

New deals mean that order books are full until the year 2024.
Getting these orders wouldn’t have been possible without Meyer’s good reputation with banks and shipping companies.
According to Meyer, the most important factor behind the success is the exceptional quality of their shipyards and continuous R&D work.
When cruise lines choose their shipbuilders, the technological know-how of the shipyard is one of the most important factors. These include, for example, the ability to minimise tremor of the hull, safety and energy production. Modern ships are increasingly built upon high-end design and technological know-how.
According to Meyer it’s also important to be able to build the ships to the exact needs of the client. This demands great flexibility from the shipyard as well as from the subcontractor network.
New ships ordered by US-based Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCC) use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as their fuel. Electricity is generated with fuel cells that are efficient and environmentally friendly.
Fuel cells are new technology for large cruise ships but Meyer believes that solutions will be ready when the building of the new ships …show more content…

According to Meyer, the shipyard’s production capacity is 50 percent larger than in the last decade, when the giant cruise ship Oasis of the Seas was built there.
Shipbuilding is often mocked as an industry that’s living on government funding. In many countries, governments have indeed bought out shipyards during hard times. Shipyards have also gotten below the radar subsidies.
Even in the case of Meyer, Finnish government partnered with Meyer family for the transition period. Jan Meyer doesn’t like these veiled accusations.
“I would like to remind you that our family business has been independent for the last 200 years. Naturally, we get warranties for international trade from Finnvera. We can also get small-scale funding for innovating new technologies, but it’s not significant. Our business is not based on government funding”, Meyer says.
According to the Undersecretary of the Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, Petri Peltonen, the innovation funding can consist of a few million euros.
“Company can apply innovation funding from Ely-centre for developing new technology. For example, in a project worth one billion euros, the maximum funding can be about ten million euros,” Peltonen

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