14
Finland was deep in the throes
of recession at the beginning of
the 1990s, making for a difficult
start for the newly established
Deltamarin.
After the bankruptcy of
the Wärtsilä Marine shipyard, some of its
designers established a new design company,
which in 1991 was merged into Deltamarin,
and the Helsinki office was established with
about 20 employees.
Markku Kanerva recalls this period:
“Shipbuilding wasn’t doing well; there were
no sales. This was a global issue, and in times
like these, strange business models tend
to crop up and people gamble with other
people’s money. We were in dire straits and
had to temporarily lay off people in 1992, but
we made it through with an unconventional
contract or two.”
One rather special contract was concluded
in the late summer of 1992 from China and
Singapore: the conversion of two ferries,
Athena and Kalypso, acquired by the
Chinese Genting Group from the bankruptcy
board of the Swedish owner Slite. Athena
was converted in Singapore, but Kalypso
ultimately in Rauma, Finland. The Athena
conversion was a good reference in managing
difficult conversion at a less experienced
shipyard. This was also noticed by other
shipowners like Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
(RCCL) which contracted Deltamarin to carry
out a major conversion design and project in
San Diego.
The next year was equally difficult, and as
a consequence Deltamarin’s sales were
decentralised to try and speed them up. There
were people doing sales for each specific
shipyard in Finland and others doing it
abroad, for example in Sweden and Germany.
This was the first step in the Key Account
Manager system. Around then Deltamarin
received an interesting enquiry from the
naval shipyard E.N. Bazan in El Ferrol, Spain.
“They wanted to develop a method of
building module cabins, and I suggested
going to see them,” says Kanerva. “Despite
the doubts, I went to see what the people
at the shipyard had in mind. We sealed the
deal pretty quickly, because we had capable
experienced people and good references for
modular construction, and we managed to
be there at the right time. We also got along
well with the managing director and technical
director of the shipyard who wanted to
develop and modernise the shipyard.”
“They told that they were about to sign a
major contract for a helicopter carrier for the
Thai Navy. They wanted it built in seven years
instead of ten. We received the documentation
OVERCOMING THE RECESSION OF THE 1990s