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Page 69: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 1984)
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A Special Advertising Report BRAZILIAN SHIPBUILDING
VEROLME ASSUMES LEAD
IN INDUSTRIAL EXPORTS
Verolme yard at Angra dos Reis
LANDSBERG SEES DECLINE
OF TRADITIONAL BUILDERS
Verolme do Brasil, with overseas sales of ships and offshore platforms totaling US$200 million in 1983, has become the leading private Brazilian exporter of manufactured goods.
During the past four years,
Verolme's exports have totaled
US$428 millioo, keeping Brazil firmly in the highly competitive international shipbuilding marketplace.
Verolme executives believe that their chances to win new orders at home and abroad, especially in the field of military vessels, have been enhanced by the change in company ownership which occurred during late 1983. Peter
A. H. Landsberg, the Brazilian executive who became president of
Verolme in 1981 after 14 years as head of Shell's Brazilian operations, has purchased Verolme from its
Dutch parent company Rijn-
Schdde-VercJme (RSV)
The US$63-million purchase deal is one of the largest-ever local buyouts of a foreign-owned firm.
Since entering the export business four years ago, Verolme's success has been marked by the size and diversity of its construction capacity — for ships up to 600,000 dwt and offshore rigs of any type and size — plus the company's ability to please some of the market's most demanding customers.
Gulf International of Geneva, for example, took delivery of four
Verolme-built 70,000-dwt grain carriers in 1982-83. Gulf executives now report they have "never received better ships."
This group has another four
Verolme 44,500-dwt carriers on order. And Verolme beat out 70 other competitors — including
Japanese and Korean firms — to take a US$116-million Aramco contract in December 1981 for four self-propelled jackup oil platforms. They were delivered in 1983.
Today, Verolme is expanding and diversifying its Brazilian facilities to move into new industrial transportation fields — including the building of large off- road mining trucks and dredges.
Verolme's repair dock.
Peter A. H. Landsberg, the 60-year-old president and new owner of Verolme do Brasil, believes that shipbuilding is no longer an "appropriate" industry for highly industrialized nations, which are entering the "post- industrial" stage of economic development.
In a recent interview at
Verolme's headquarters in Rio de
Janeiro, Landsberg said that the shipbuilding industries of the U.S. and Europe are in an "irreversible decline," and even the large
Japanese yards show signs of losing their com- petitive edge.
Developing nations such as
Brazil, Korea and China inevitably will be the dominant forces in world shipbuilding,
Landsberg Landsberg says.
He outlined some of the specific advantages which will permit Verolme to participate in this growth: —"We have a large local market in Brazil, which is the basis for any export potential." —"Brazil has a sophisticated industrial base which is larger, for example, than Korea's." —"Local steel is of excellent quality, and we have ample supplies of electrical power." —"We have a stable labor pool, with no strikes affecting
Verolme in more than 20 years." —"Automation can only be taken so far in shipbuilding. After that, labor quality is what counts — and our productivity is better than that of European yards, with the same quality." — "Our yard is one of the most modern in the world. We can tailor ships to special order better than the mass-production yards of
Japan and Korea." •
FIRST US NAVY
JOB IN BRAZIL
Verolme completed the first
Brazilian repair job on a U. S.
Navy vessel in early 1984 and intends to expand this type of specialised service work, at its fully integrated Angra dos Reis shipyard.
Located 70 miles southwest of Rio de Janeiro, the yard has a 200-man team devoted exclusively to repair jobs.
U.S. Navy authorities say they were "very impressed" with
Verolme's efficiency in handling the 20-day hull and general repair work on the oceanographic research vessel
Wilkes.
Verolme's previous repair assignments, mainly for Brazilian owners, have been concentrated in the area of offshore oil drilling rigs and exploration platforms and ships. •
VEROLME
F
For additional information about Verolme, contact:
Edna de Almeida, External Affairs Advisor
Verolme Estaleiros Reunidos do Brasil S.A.
Rua Buenos Aires, 68 - 36th Floor 20070 Rio de Janeiro, RJ - BRAZIL
Telephone (021)292-3148 - Telex (021)23766 VERB
March 15, 1984 Circle 132 on Reader Service Card 71