DSG said that it is committed to becoming the leading shipyard in the Nordic region by following a strategy that puts greater focus on environmental initiatives, investments and new jobs.
Since 2000, the company has been part of the global Damen Shipyards Group, which is based in the Netherlands and has a turnover of €1.3 bill.
“We are proud of our Gotaverken heritage and this will naturally also be reflected in our new name. The wealth of expertise we have built up over the years, together with the many opportunities that the Damen Group offers for meeting customers’ demands, give us a very solid foundation on which to build. We will also need to take on around 25 to 30 new employees over the next two years,” said Jos Goris, DSG managing director.
DSG has purchased both floating docks already in use at the yard, as well as refurbishing the facility and making new investments.
“The global economic crisis has hit shipping and the shipbuilding industry hard in Scandinavia as well. Combined with high fuel prices, this has meant that shipowners have been holding back on repairs and maintenance. The effect for us has been stiffer competition for customers. This makes it especially important that we now invest strategically in order to meet customers’ needs as effectively as possible.
“We have created around 15 new positions this year. We’ve done this mainly through internal recruitment, in line with our strategy, but we will also need to bring in more people from outside this year and in 2013,” Goris concluded.
DSG currently employs 130 people and has a turnover of SEK300 mill. 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, the company said.