The Swedish shipyard Götaverken Cityvarvet, since 2000 part of the Damen Shipyards Group, will change its name to Damen Shiprepair Götaverken (DSGö). Along with the name change, the company changes its strategy an will put greater focus on environmental initiatives, investments and new jobs.
Damen Shipyards Group has more than 35 shipyards and related companies around the world, eight of which are dedicated to repairs, conversion and maintenance. Götaverken is the third largest of those eight. The company is one of the largest specialist ship repair yards in northern Europe.
New Strategy Requires Investments
The new strategy has led Damen Shiprepair Götaverken to buy up both floating docks they have been using, as well as refurbishing and making new investments at the facility in the Port of Gothenburg. The company feels investments are now more important than ever as the economic crisis results in stiffer competition.
Offshore Vessels in Demand
The offshore industry does not seem to have been hit so hard by the economic downturn, which is partly reflected in Damen’s increased order book for offshore (wind) vessels. This goes especially for Fast Crew Suppliers, Twin Axe support vessels (able to transfer crew onto wind turbines in 2.5 m wave height) and PSVs. Therefore, Damen Shiprepair Götaverken expects to see increased revenues from the Norwegian and Scottish offshore industry over the next two or three years.
Expanding the Workforce
DSGö has put a lot of emphasis on its internal training programme in order to maintain and build on the existing knowhow of the workforce. Around 15 new positions were created over the past year, mainly through internal recruitment, but more people will be brought in from outside. The company expects to take on around 25 to 30 new employees over the next two years.
About DSGö
DSGö currently employs 130 people and has a turnover of SEK 300 million. Profits have generally shown an upward trend over the last five years, despite a slump in 2011 that was mainly due to the faltering market. Götaverken was founded back in 1841 under the name of Göteborgs Mekaniska Verkstad. Since the shipyard reopened in 1993 – with around 70 employees – it has completed over 1,000 contracts for the repair, maintenance and refitting of various vessels.
Picture: Aerial view of DSGö
