Page 13: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2013)

www.marinelink.com 13Can you please provide a short over- view of your career and current posi- tion? I was born in 1958 and grew up in the Harz region, in the city of Claust-hal-Zellerfeld. After graduating from high school I spent 12 years in the Ger- man Navy, among others also on the sail training ship Gorch Fock. During this time I completed mechanical engineer- ing studies. After termination of my ser- vice in the navy I worked at Blohm+Voss and was responsible for the power plant business. During this time I Þ nished my doctorate on the topic of ?Hydrogen and Energy Economy.? From 1996 on I spent years in different German ener- gy companies. In 2004, I came back to Blohm+Voss and was a member of the board of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG until 2012, and since 2008 Chairman of the Board of Blohm+Voss Shipyards GmbH as well as Blohm+Voss Repair GmbH. After the sale of the civilian shipbuilding activities implemented by ThyssenKrupp Marine System in Febru-ary 2012 I took over the presidency of both the enterprises, this also under the new ownership as a Managing Partner. Blohm+Voss is well-known and re- garded globally, having built many great ships over the years. What were the reasons for the radical reorgani- zation of the shipyards structure in 2009? Already before the world eco- nomic crisis and under the aegis of Thys-senKrupp Marine Systems, we started with the reorganization in 2008. During that period we realized that merchant ships could be produced at considerably more favorable conditions in Asia than by us ? so we needed to direct our at-tention on special ships in those areas where Blohm+Voss has the knowledge. That were naval shipbuilding and yachts. The company has a long tradition in the building of exclusive yachts: the very Þ rst luxury yacht for cruises were sup- plied by Blohm+Voss already in 1900 ? it was the Prinzessin Victoria Luise. The high product quality is approved, for example the Savarona, built in 1931 and still in service. The requirements in yacht building are essentially different of this in naval shipbuilding. Yachts built by Blohm+Voss are so called ?one-offs,? meaning they are built only one time, with a one-off expenditure in design and construction. In the segment of naval shipbuilding ship plans are worked out and the ships are build in small batches. This means, structures in naval ship-building are different for processing an order than in yacht building. In the yacht building we adapted our structures on the very speciÞ c characteristics and we can react ß exibly and fast on a custom- er?s wishes. An additional difference can be seen in the building location. Naval ships are produced mainly in the princi-pal?s country, whereby yacht customers pay to have their ships built in Germany by Blohm+Voss. Furthermore, we see with yachts a grow-ing market, which is for Blohm+Voss a suitable ?special ship? segment, where we have a brand which is recognized for quality, exclusivity and manufac- turer character. Against this background, the newbuilding segmentation has been done in a naval and a civilian part to ven-ture a comeback in the yacht business.Talleres Navales del Golfo Islote San Juan de Ulúa s/n91800, Veracruz, Ver. México. Tel: (52) 229 9892500 Fax: (52) 229 [email protected] A WORLDWIDE EXPERIENCED SHIPYARD WITH INTEGRAL SERVICES ??Repair and maintenance of ships, machinery, equipment and engines??Repair and maintenance of jack-up and semisubmersible platforms ??Fabrication of offshore modules and components, fabrication and assembly of all types of light and heavy steel structures??Conversion, upgrading and life extension of ships and offshore unitsServicesTALLERES NAVALES !")¿$,)#,¿?1+$?¿&0¿ A GLOBAL COMPANY WHICH BEGAN ITS OPERATIONS IN 1995. CURRENTLY OFFERS INTEGRAL FABRICATION AND SHIP REPAIR SERVICES. MR #11 (10-17).indd 13MR #11 (10-17).indd 1311/11/2013 11:24:08 AM11/11/2013 11:24:08 AM