From a small shipyard on Norway’s west coast, Anna-Synnøve Bye is managing the construction of the world’s first ocean-going luxury resort, The World of ResidenSea. ‘We are heading for the gold medal in an international race demanding top performance in price, quality and time,’ says Bye.
‘There is not a simple answer to our success,’ says Anna-Synnøve Bye at Fosen Mekaniske Verksteder AS.
Fosen Mekaniske Verksteder AS at Rissa, Norway.
Solving the puzzle
There is not a simple answer to our success, says Bye. It is a question of being able to deliver a top-quality product that can operate under all conditions. It demands a team of people able to complete a puzzle together.
Time, quality and price are decisive to win a contract battle. Fosen Mekaniske Verksteder AS has never missed a deadline for delivery from its start-up in 1961. The company makes use of suppliers from all over Europe. The hull is being built at Fosens yards in Sweden, then fitted out at Rissa. Financial solutions to a project are part of the contracts offered owners.
Customer is king
The hallmark of the yard is its flexibility to produce products customised to the clients needs, at the same time as they meet international requirements. It delivers the same standard as competitors, but the difference lies in its ability to find new solutions to old ways of doing things.
The way we did it yesterday doesnt necessarily have to be correct today, even if it is the same type of ship we are building, says Bye. The customer is new, the public, environment and materials we use are continuously changing. We have to reconsider the approach to each individual customer. It doesnt reduce the quality of our work; it just adds knowledge and makes us able to survive in a continuously changing environment.
Same starting line
Bye underscores the importance of equal framework conditions in shipbuilding to manage competition under equal terms. As it is today, the conditions vary between different parts of the world.
Asian shipyards contribute to uncertainty in the market as they continuously lower prices. At the same time the EU has ended shipbuilding support for all EU countries, including Norway. What is most frustrating, is that various countries within the EU find new loopholes to avoid the new resolution resulting in players on different starting lines.
We watch developments with Argus eyes, and are not willing to give up in the first round. We will always head for the gold, and we are capable of making it, concludes Bye.