BLRT expands by purchasing shipyard in Finland

The BLRT Group, one of the largest industrial enterprises in the Baltic states, concluded a contract of purchase for the Finnish ship repair company Turku Repair Yard Ltd., which owns the largest dry dock in the Baltic Sea region, RZD-Partner reports.
The group’s existing ship repair subsidiaries in Tallinn and Klaipeda repair 165 and 130 vessels per year respectively. The Turku Repair Yard repairs approximately 80 - 100 ships annually and possesses a competitive edge: the high quality of its work coupled with short deadlines and the logistically suitable location. The main clients include Neste, Tallink, Silja and Viking Lines and the ice-breakers owned by the Finnish state.
According to Fjodor Berman, Chairman of the Board of the BLRT Group, the purchase of the Finnish enterprise will elevate the BLRT Group among the elite of ship-repairing companies worldwide. The acquisition of the Turku Repair Yard will also facilitate increased efficiency in a logistical context.
“I believe that Finland’s ship repair specialists are one of the best in the world. In addition to extending the range of physical possibilities for repairing ships, we will also raise the level of our know-how and quality. The range of services will increase as well.” Speaking about development perspectives, Berman said that the next step will be that of developing the ship repair service, with a group of specialists travelling to a vessel in need of repairs at any location worldwide and offering services on the go, without directing the vessel into a repair dock. This will save time and money.
In August 2001 the BLRT Group purchased the Vakaru Laivu Remontas company in Lithuania. The BLRT Group’s main areas of activity are: shipbuilding, ship repairs, manufacture of metal structures, sale of metals, port and stevedore services, mechanical engineering, old metal processing and car transport services. The BLRT Group consists of 64 subsidiaries in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Finland and Russia, reports press service of the BLRT Group.