Page 12: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2013)

12 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? AUGUST 2013 Why the rebrand from Ship Construc- tor to SSI? Traditionally our core busi- ness has focused around ShipConstruc-tor which is an engineering tool focused on the shipbuilding core disciplines. Our business over the last 10 years has transitioned quite a bit into the offshore business and an increased focus on ser- vices ? the consultative implementation of engineering tools. We?ve really been focused on changing our image to that of total business solutions. So we decided it was time to change the external face of the company to better represent what we are today. What was the driver for the change? I don?t think that there?s any one driver in particular. I would say that it is wanting to appear in the market-place as the company that we truly are today. We don?t just drop product off at the doorstep; the shipbuilding industry is not about that. It needs trusted advisors; we know the business of our clients and we can provide more than a product.What has been the biggest challenge? The biggest challenge has been internally, getting our people to not just see it as a white wash, but to see it as the next evolution of the company. When I started with the company we were four or Þ ve people, and we?re now about 60 plus with another 60 in our sales chan-nel worldwide. Getting people who have been here long term to recognize the type of company we have evolved to has been a challenge.In today?s market, where do you see opportunity? We believe our software is the most scalable in terms of implementa-tion. It is the fastest to implement and easiest to use. We have had great success in the emerging markets; for example Brazil is a real hotbed of activity for us. We have had more than our fair share of success there, and I think this is be-cause our software can be picked up by people who have very little background in shipbuilding, very little experience in 3D CAD tools; and it provides a running start.How are you penetrating the Brazil market? Almost all of our sales are done through third-party resellers that have both industry and cultural experience in the markets they serve. For example in Brazil, our partner there has a long his-tory of implementing document man-agement and engineering management solutions in Brazil. His father, who he runs another business with, has been in the shipbuilding industry as an engineer- ing manager and now runs a business that works with the commissioning of FPSOs and offshore platforms, and he has political connections. So having that engineering and software focus in the son; and the shipbuilding and political connections in the father; as well as the cultural background with both, has ulti-mately been the key to our success.Are there any projects going on in Brazil right now? Absolutly. EAS, the largest shipyard in the southern hemisphere is a ShipConstructor client, and all of the Suezmax tankers have been done with the ShipConstructor software. We have about six or seven recent clients, from yacht builders to larger shipyards. We have an EAS case study on our website which explains how EAS had to build up its engineering team from no engineers in Brazil capable to engi-neer a ship; they had to build a produc-tion workforce from no one who had From ShipConstructor to A signiÞ cant change that is more than skin deep On the sidelines at Norshipping 2013 in Oslo, Maritime Reporter caught up with Darren Larkins, a 14-year vet- eran of Ship Constructor, serving the last two years as CEO. The topic: the evolution of the company from that of an engineering tool supplier to a more consultative role, an evolution culminating in the changing of its name from Ship Constructor to SSI.By Greg Trauthwein, Editor FIVE MINUTES WITH DARREN LARKINS, CEO, SSIMR #8 (10-17).indd 12MR #8 (10-17).indd 128/1/2013 9:00:15 AM8/1/2013 9:00:15 AM