Page 40: of Marine News Magazine (October 2014)

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INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS

I t’s no secret that the domestic, inland marine busi- ness can be conservative in its approach to adopt new technologies, but then, this can probably be said of the global waterfront, as well. But the market is changing, driven by larger corporate entities moving into these tight- ly held markets, as well as a myriad of legislative and opera- tional conditions – namely the rapidly rising cost of fuel.

ZF Marine – or more specifi cally ZF Marine Krimpen b.v., the commercial thruster manufacturer – is poised to profi t as it builds an impressive list of inland towboat companies enjoying the operational advantages and tremendous fuel savings that emanate from its thruster solution.

Building Blocks

When ZF bought HRP Thruster Systems B.V. in 2009, it was a strategic purchase that was intended to help HRP to grow its organization to a level where it was capable to serve clients globally. ZF turned out to be a perfect partner.

ZF Group was looking to add marine thruster technology to its ZF Marine family of products, and it already had the established network of sales and service in place, as well as the engineering horsepower and organizational structure to grow the thruster business quickly and effectively. “Essentially, we went from a small company to a big company, and the way in which we view and approach the market is signifi cantly different,” said Frank van der Vegt,

Sales Manager, Commercial Craft Thruster Systems, ZF

Marine Krimpen B.V. “The way it is taking off now means that you need a lot of focus, a lot of attention and a lot of people on site. So we used the strength of the ZF organiza- tion, in this case in America, to give this focus and to bring this to the next level.”

Despite traditional concerns that the shallow draft and ever changing inland waterways system might cause dam- age to the units, ZF nevertheless pulled off its penetration and rapid growth in the inland towboat sector, a conser- vative niche that traditionally had not embraced azimuth thruster technology.

ZF Thrusters on the Water – here and now

Looking for a willing, stable partner, ZF Marine found

Southern Towing Company, headquartered in Memphis,

TN, as a fi rm that would embrace newer technologies.

Southern Towing is one of the nation’s largest transport- ers of fertilizer and other products along the nation’s in- land waterways. For more than 50 years, it has operated the largest fl eet of anhydrous ammonia barges in the U.S.

The company prides itself on building and running a cut- ting edge fl eet. And, starting in 2008, it started outfi tting a number of its new build towboats with the innovative rudder propellers. A total of six Southern Towing vessels are now equipped with ZF Marine Z-Drives. “It’s very much an industry where everyone waits for the fi rst guy to do it and everyone watches,” said van der Vegt.

Z-Drive Towboats

ZF Marine penetrates domestic inland waterway markets – enjoying good success with two U.S. majors. The prospects for an even brighter future hinge on the perfor- mance of its early entries. So far, so good.

By Joseph Keefe

October 2014 40 MN

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