Dutch company Dijvler, with nearly fifty years of experience in anchor and mooring winches for inland vessels, is expanding into the sea-going vessel segment. It has developed a new, standardised programme of anchor and mooring winches for cargo and offshore support vessels.
The company can do this after acquiring the rights, designs, drawings, and certifications of C-Nautical. As a result, Dijvler is bringing back a European alternative. The first orders for Damen and Briese Schiffahrt are expected to be delivered in 2027.
Market gap following supplier exits
Several European suppliers, including C-Nautical, exited the market, in part due to sustained price pressure that drove margins below sustainable levels. The result was a market without viable Dutch or broader European alternatives for high-quality anchor and mooring winches for sea-going vessels.
Dijvler identified this gap as a logical extension of its existing business. The company has supplied more than 2000 winches to the inland waterway sector since its founding in 1977 and has built a track record on the back of proprietary designs, in-house assembly, while aiming for long-term service relationships.
Also read: Straatman acquires Kraaijeveld Winches
Standardised programme, Chinese production
Over the past two years, Dijvler has reviewed and standardised the C-Nautical design portfolio. The company found the original designs to be of solid engineering quality and updated and integrated them into a coherent new product line. Type approvals have been obtained for the full range of winches. Taken together, this enables the company to move quickly from enquiry to detailed engineering package to production.
The winches are produced at a partner production facility in China, a facility with which Dijvler’s Managing Director Laurens van Gelder has worked for many years. He previously served as Managing Director of Damen Anchor & Chain Factory Production in China. The cooperation allows Dijvler to remain price-competitive with Asian suppliers while retaining full control over design, quality assurance, and after sales support from the Netherlands. In the meantime, the production facility in Hardinxveld-Giessendam in the Netherlands offers the opportunity for Made in Europe production.
An added benefit for shipyards building in China is the ability to source from a locally producing supplier while owners and operators retain access to European service support. Payment in local currency simplifies procurement for Chinese yards.
First projects confirmed
Dijvler has re-established contact with a number of former C-Nautical customers and is in discussions with several shipyards, with the first Dijvler winch deliveries anticipated in the near future. In the meantime, several orders have been received from Damen Cargo Vessels and Briese Schiffahrt for deliveries over the next years.
Dijvler’s winches carry type approval from Bureau Veritas and Lloyd’s Register, including Marine Design Appraisal, and are certified to current ATEX directives.
Dijvler’s Owner & Director Laurens van Gelder: ‘The exits we saw in this market were ultimately the result of a race to the bottom on price. That is not a model that serves customers well. An anchor winch has to perform reliably for decades. That demands a supplier with the financial health and commitment to still be there when service is needed. We have been building winches for nearly fifty years. That continuity is what we are bringing to the sea-going market.’
Picture: Laurens van Gelder: ‘We have been building winches for nearly fifty years. That continuity is what we are bringing to the sea-going market’ (photo Dijvler).
