Page 13: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1999)

Investment in Design (Continued from page 8) of smaller classification societies to maintain a viable market position in the future.

LR has a solid basis from which to go forward. The marine division retained its world-leading market share of classed tonnage in 1998, with an entered fleet of 104 million-gt representing 20 percent of the global fleet.

Completions to class were of a corre- sponding percentage, while class responsibilities were secured for 23.4 percent of all orders placed in South

Korea. Its share of newbuild contracts placed in the European Union spiraled to one-third, and the level of work intake was all the more notable for the fact that

LR did not have the advantage of a sig- nificant home market, as is the case with most of its competitors.

Past years' investment in fostering diversification have also been vindicat- ed by the strong business development of the industry division, which generat- ed an income level equivalent to that yielded by marine activities in 1998.

R&D and other future-oriented initia- tives are driven by market factors and by a need to continually raise efficiency and maintain an edge in a field where levels of technology and service are competitive criteria. LR chairman,

Patrick O'Ferrall said, "We are stream- lining our headquarters operations and, while IT will be a key element in achieving this, we are also implement- ing a more customer-focused approach." "We have undertaken a program of market research, in which we have lis- tened carefully to the views of our cus- tomers. Through this, we will identify their needs and develop solutions to pro- vide added value in their businesses, across all market sectors with which we are involved. Meeting the needs of cus- tomers in a cost effective and profes- sional manner, wherever they are in the world, is the foundation on which LR's future success will be built," observed

O'Ferrall. Willem de long, Dutch-born managing director of LR's marine divi- sion confirmed that "A radical reorgani- zation of the structure of the division, together with relocation to new head- quarters building at 71 Fenchurch

Street, London, will provide each cus- tomer with a single point of contact and faster response times." As part of the process of better responding to both pro- ject and lifetime needs, he intends to create distinct departments for generic types, to better serve the differing requirements of, for instance, container vessels, tankers and passenger ships.

Improved communication through regional centers, together with invest- ment in office and ship-based technolo- gy, is enabling the society to become more focused on the safety, business and environmental needs of its customers.

LR's Willem de Jong

June, 1999 (800) 913-0062

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