Damen Shipyards Group opens new engineering centre in Helsinki

Damen has established a presence in Finland for the first time. The Helsinki office has been set up to take advantage of the depth of engineering expertise that exists in the country following the group’s entry last year into building large vessels for the RoPax, Cruise and Offshore markets via its new Romanian yard, Damen Shipyards Mangalia. The new office will augment and extend  Damen’s engineering capability in this market segment, the company said in its release.

Finland was selected as the location because, along with Italy, Germany and France, it is one of the leading countries in the world in the design and build of cruise and RoPax vessels; this in combination with particular expertise in ice-class vessels, a growing segment of the cruise market. Helsinki also has excellent connections to Poland and The Netherlands, allowing for optimal collaboration between the Damen engineering entities situated in Gdansk and Rotterdam. Damen Engineering Helsinki Oy will focus on concept and basic engineering with an initial target of around 30 people to be based there by the end of 2020 working in close cooperation with their colleagues within Damen.

The office is also intended as a showcase for Damen in Finland, welcoming both customers and suppliers, as well as seeking collaborating with local, specialized maritime engineering entities. With that in mind, a lot of effort went into finding the right premises. A recently renovated building has been selected in a central location in Helsinki. The area is currently undergoing regeneration from being a former industrial harbour & fish market and offers excellent commuting connections and a pleasant work environment for Damen’s employees.

“We are now focused on building the team,” said Damen’s Frank Rebel, “and we already have two projects to start with: a cruise vessel and a RoRo vessel. Members of Damen’s Helsinki team will have the opportunity to add real value to these and other projects in the future. We look forward to welcoming them into the Damen family.”

Damen Shipyards Group
Damen Shipyards Group operates 36 shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 12,000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 6,500 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers around 175 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.

Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.

Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.

For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. Damen also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, winches, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.

Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has a worldwide network of eighteen repair and conversion yards of which twelve are located in North West Europe. Facilities at the yards include more than 50 floating (and covered) drydocks, including the longest, 420 x 80 metres, and the widest, 405 x 90 metres, as well as slopes, ship lifts and indoor halls. Projects range from the smallest simple repairs through Class’ maintenance to complex refits and the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1,300 repair and maintenance jobs annually, both at yards as well as in ports and during voyage.