Page 79: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2015)

price, which is a big indicator for the • Industrial Business: This is a offshore oil industry. When the oil price ‘second leg’ for Reintjes. To date it has goes below $70 per barrel,” offshore oil seven gearboxes sold, with ? ve running. and gas drilling activities tend to dry up. “The customer’s are currently very hap-

While the price of oil bears a direct and py with our quality, and this is an area readily visible connection to offshore oil where we want to grow, mainly in the and gas activities, the impact of Chinese steam turbine market. We are lucky in industrial activity is perhaps a bit more that with MAN Diesel & Turbo we have obscure but equally signi? cant. With in- a good references (the ? rst six units are dustrial activity on the wane in China, sold to them).” there is lower-demand for coal, mean- ing lower demand too for the inland tow The Reintjes Product Family and barges that bring the coal to market As a true German engineered solu- or to of? oad to bigger ships. There are tions company, the Reintjes brand starts various other bits of information, fol- and ends with a rugged product line-up lowing charter rates for example, but for the maritime market that is ? eld- the real market intelligence comes from proven and manufactured to the highest information gathered from our clients, degree of quality. First and foremost, from talking to people, said Deleroi, the Reintjes name is synonymous with as it is the engine makers, the design- marine gearboxes, and it offers a broad ers and naval architects that generally selection from small to large, for pro- are the ? rst ones to know of emerging pellers, waterjets and turbo gearboxes, trends, serving as bellwethers for the mainly targeting rigorous applications market at large. “Two of the market sec- in the Workboat, Fast Naval Craft, Fast tors are presently down – the offshore Ferries and Yachts. The company has an business and the tugboat business – so expanded range of “Special” gearbox we have to compensate with additional solutions that includes: business from other market segments,” • The Fortjes podded package, a said Deleroi. In particular, he sees four space-saving design with a hybrid op- market sectors primed for growth: tion available.

• Yacht Business: Reintjes sees • A Hybrid Gearbox which is ideal growth here, particularly with its new for slow-speed operations, and electric

Fortjes podded system; drives to promote smooth running, low • Fishing Business: The ? shing ? eet noise and low energy consumption.

around the world is very old and is in • Dredging Gearboxes developed need of being rebuilt and renovated. speci? cally to handle the rigors of • Military & Government busi- dredging, including on pumps installed ness: As the world is increasingly in inside the vessel and dredge pumps in con? ict, more countries are investing in use under water.

patrol boats, frigates and corvettes. • Step-up Gearboxes.

Investment in People

On the occasion of interviewing Klaus Deleroi, the new managing director of Reintjes, a group of sales and service agents from around the globe, includ- ing Ralph, Karl and Chris Senner from Karl Senner Inc., the Reintjes dis- tributor in North America were in Hameln, Germany for a week of sales and marketing meetings. The Senner organization is a unique entity in Deleroi’s view, as it has fully embraced the notion of not simply selling product, rather gaining experience and knowledge of the product, system and manufacture process, and melding this with depth and insight on customer needs. Ralph,

Karl and Chris have actually worked in the Reintjes factory for extended peri- ods, with Ralph working in Hameln for three years in the 1970s, and brothers

Karl and Chris living and working in Hameln for a full year recently, work- ing in all aspects of design and manufacture to gain invaluable knowledge along the way. “I think our machining capability and our facilities are good, I think the biggest investment that we need to make is our investment in people, which goes together with our new philosophy to be more customer orientated, understanding our customer’s needs and how they are using their machines,” said Deleroi. “The Senner’s are actually a perfect example” of the philosophy

I am trying to impart across our entire sales and marketing network, in terms of learning the product, learning the process inside and out, and melding that with knowledge of the customer’s needs. “We have to speak to our clients eye- to-eye, and not just to give a sales pitch. This is where we have to invest in the training of our people.” www.marinelink.com 79

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