Page 17: of Marine Technology Magazine (June 2012)
AUV Arctic Operations
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producing 70% of all units sold. [See Figure 2: ROV Production, by country, below] ROV subcomponent and auxiliary product manufacturers: Subcomponent manufacturers produce the hardware and soft- ware components used in ROVs. Many of these companies are located in the USA and UK, but companies in Norway, France, and Germany also supply many components for ROVs. Auxiliary product suppliers manufacture systems used to launch, control and recover the ROV. These include manu- facturers of tethers, tether management systems, LARS, and control rooms needed to operate ROVs. Table 1 lists a few of the leading subcomponent and auxiliary product manufactur- ers for ROVs. [See Table 1: Lead ROV component manufacturers, pg. 18] ROV production support service providers: Engineering services, machining services and integrators used on a con- tract or spot-transaction basis by the product manufacturer to solve speciÞ c product-line problems. According to inter- views of product manufacturers conducted by CGGC, these services are high-value added activities because of the highly speciÞ c knowledge needed to integrate hardware and software into ROVs. The distribution of value among the production segments of the ROV value chain is approximately 40% in platform manufacturing and 60% in instrumentation manufac- turing. Distribution ROV Brokers: ROV brokers and sales representatives are generally small companies in the local market with rights to distribute and sell ROVs. The industry norm is for the manu- facturer to maintain direct sales in its home country or region, while exclusive distributors are used to sell in countries out- side the manufacturerÕs direct sales territory. Post-production support service providers ? Post-produc-tion support services for ROVs include repair, maintenance, and training services. The brand manufacturer typically con- ducts service-after-the-sale at its manufacturing facilities. The component manufacturer may conduct the repair of speciÞ c parts, such as servovalve (ROV hydraulics) and electronics. In some markets, the vehicle brand manufacturer may develop authorized service representatives that provide local support to the end-user. Three value-adding activities are related to service after the sale: 1) providing the customer with needed product maintenance and support, which includes performing necessary maintenance service and delivery or installation of replacement parts); 2) maintaining close contact with the cus-www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 17Figure 2: ROV Production, By Country Source: Duke CGGC Ocean Technology Database MTR #5 (1-17).indd 17MTR #5 (1-17).indd 175/31/2012 2:07:13 PM5/31/2012 2:07:13 PM