Page 8: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (September 1999)

Investment in Design by David Tinsley, technical editor

A happy coupling

Largely complementary operations, a strong base in terms of volume and tech- nologies, plus considerable synergy potential, provided a solid platform for the coupling of the marine equipment and design activities of Norway's

Ulstein group and the British-owned, specialized engineering force Vickers.

At a stroke, the combined strengths rep- resented in Vickers Ulstein Marine Sys- tems made the new entity the leader in specific market segments. However, its wide-ranging capabilities provide the requisite resources to increase penetra- tion in existing areas of engagement and break into new markets.

Just as the organization has quickly acted on its considerably widened pack- age supply potential, the sustained pace of product development throughout the

Vickers Ulstein network demonstrates a determination to maintain the business momentum both parties had built up as separate undertakings. The acquisition of Ulstein, bar its shipbuilding opera- tions, was wholly in line with Vickers' strategy of business development in niche engineering sectors offering growth potential. Ulstein Holdings' robust business performance, and accel- erated growth following Oslo Stock

Exchange listing in the fall of 1997, has been one of Scandinavia's major indus- trial success stories in recent years,

Vickers marine division, meanwhile, has produced solid results through the 1990s, thanks in no small way to the prudent decision 13 years ago to pur- chase Swedish propulsion specialist

Kamewa.

While there are many elements to the new union, the coupling of the Ulstein

Propeller, Bird-Johnson, Kamewa and

Aquamaster bloodlines, with retained brand identities, plus associated research resources, must rank as one of the most attractive aspects of the amal- gamation. The expanded in-house capa- bility through the whole power train, including main engines, transmissions, shafting, waterjets and, now, compact gas turbines, bodes well for single- sourcing across a very substantial swath of the market. Vickers has a long and complex history, originating in Sheffield steelmaking in 1828. During both world wars, it was a major supplier of defense equipment, the most famous product being the Spitfire. Its role in airplane manufacture included its participation in the development of Concorde, which made its debut in 1969. Its withdrawal from shipbuilding came with U.K. nationalization of the industry towards the end of the 1970s. The 1986 pur- chase of Kamewa saw the revitalization of its marine activities, strengthened in 1995 with the takeover of Finland's

Aquamaster-Rauma. Vickers' subse- quent sale of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars to

Volkswagen provided funds for the marine sector expansion strategy crys- tallizing in the marriage with Ulstein.

By bringing the Norwegian-owned, international group into its fold, marine activities now constitute the largest of

Vickers' three divisions, outstripping both defense systems and turbine com- ponents, the two other sectors, in terms both of turnover and employees. In tech- nology areas such as research and devel- opment, and also in service-back-up, the investment

CM. 378 on Reader Service Card Maritime Reporter/Engineering News next valve purchase into an

W&O Supply's product portfolio includes ANSI spec, DIN or JIS metric, and U.S. MIL-SPEC. We offer material in steel, nodular iron, cast iron, bronze, stainless steel, copper nickel, and monel.

Our on-hand inventory of materials- meeting ABS, Lloyd's, DNV, BV, GL, and other Classification Society standards-help ensure that the products we supply satisfy the unique requirements of the maritime industry.

Charleston, SC

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Houston, TX

Jacksonville, FL

Linden, NJ

Long Beach, CA

Mobile, AL

New Orleans, LA

Norfolk, VA

San Diego, CA

San Francisco, CA

Seattle, WA

Tampa, FL

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Antwerpen, Belgium

Engineers and purchasing agents for shipyards, ship owners, cruise lines, and the military have relied on W&O Supply for over 30 years to meet their needs and their budgets for high-value, leading-edge piping, valves, fittings, flanges, tubing, metrics, and metals.

Whether you need commodity or engineered products, W&O products save money by reducing weight, installation & production time, and maintenance costs. 3485 Evergreen Avenue

Jacksonville, FL 32206 USA +1 904.354.3800 +1 904.354.5321 Fax +1 800.962.9696 In the U.S. www.wosupply.com