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STEPS INTO THE OFFSHORE BUSINESS AND A PERMANENT FOOTHOLD IN CHINA
It’s smart that we stand
on three feet.
In addition to offshore business, Deltamarin
was taking strides into the Chinese market.
The advancement of the shipbuilding industry
in China made it the logical next step for
ship design companies to seek partnership
opportunities there.
Deltamarin was looking to serve the
Chinese market while building networks
with Western shipowners operating in China.
The company’s objective was to build up local
skills and knowledge, particularly with regard
to detail and production design in China, to
diversify its services, in other words to design
container ships and small product tankers
in addition to cruise ships and passenger
ships, which Deltamarin had been known for
previously.
As more and more shipowners were
seeking optimised ship concepts and modest
shipbuilding prices, the idea was that
Deltamarin would supply the former while
China could supply the latter.
Under the guidance of Leo Lagström,
Manager of Asian Operations at the time,
Deltamarin spent a long time searching for a
local partner. The company found its partner,
Shandong New Shipbuilding Industries, in
Weihai shipyard, where Shandong Deltamarin
Marine Engineering was eventually set up in
2006. In a news in Turun Sanomat, Lagström
said that the Weihai shipyard was chosen
because it was investing in an entirely new
and larger shipyard. 35 designers from the
Weihai shipyard moved to the new company
to work under a Chinese CEO. Deltamarin’s
goal was to increase its payroll to 100
employees in three years.
Upon signing the deal, Deltamarin became
the first Finnish ship design company to set up
a partnership in China.
“The partnership is a strategic move by
which Deltamarin will secure its activities as
an international company,” concluded Jukka
Laiterä in the same interview.
Additionally, the company had started a
joint venture with V.Ships in Monaco, focusing
on conversions.