Bernard Meyer, the sixth generation of Meyers to head MEYER WERFT in Germany’s Papenburg, on the border with the Netherlands, is full of enthusiasm. Not only does he talk warmly about Papenburg, the people who live here and everyone who works at the shipyard, but he is also full of pride in the ships being built here. “Papenburg – that’s the place where the beautiful ships are built,” he says.
Bernard Meyer is like a whirlwind in front of us when showing us round the shipyard. And he really has something to show us. The Meyer family have run this shipyard on the River Ems – 70 km inland from the coast – since 1795. It is a huge event – both in Papenburg and North Germany – when a ship from MEYER WERFT is launched and starts on the 70 km trip down the river to the sea. As the ships have increased in size, the problems involved in this trip have also increased. However, Meyer has the support of both the people and politicians.
Prior to each conveyance of a ship to the North Sea the river Ems had to be dredged on a large scale. This changed after completion of the Ems barrier, a structure that serves the purpose of flood protection and also allows the water level of the river to be raised so that the big ships can smoothly sail to the North Sea.
260,000 guests
All the ships are built in two gigantic halls at MEYER WERFT.
“While shipyards are usually linked to the three Ds – Dirty, Dangerous and Difficult – we’ve become a tourist attraction. Everyone in Germany knows that Papenburg is a place where beautiful ships are built,” says Bernard Meyer.
And his words are underlined by the fact that each of the more than 260,000 people who visit every year pay Euro 6 to enter the visitors’ centre at the shipyard. There they learn about the yard’s history – and see all kinds of beautiful cruise ships being built – one after the other.
Third generation – from wood to steel
Willem Rolf Meyer founded the shipyard in 1795, but it was the representative of the often criticised third generation who had the foresight to invest in the transition from wood to iron and steel. Joseph Lambert Meyer was the man who ran the shipyard from 1872 to 1920. This was during a revolutionary period in shipbuilding. Wood was being replaced by iron and steel and steamships were taking over from the sailing ships that until then had transported both goods and people.
The story of Joseph Meyer says that: “He was the first in Papenburg to make his entry into the construction of iron and steel ships. In those days the shipowners in Papenburg were sceptical. They threw a piece of iron into the water and said: ‘Iron won’t float. And you want to use this for shipbuilding?’”
‘Fully booked’ until 2010
Bernard Meyer is proud of what his forefathers have created – and he is proud of what his employees achieve today. “We have long discussions with the owners and are always coming up with new ideas and suggestions. For Celebrity Cruises, to which we are delivering a ship in 2008, 2009 and 2010, we created about at least 100 designs before both the owners and we were satisfied. These ships will also be the largest we’ve ever built. They will have 2,850 beds, will be 118,000 gross tonnes and will travel at speeds of 24 knots. We work as a yard in partnership with both the shipowner and the third party – the classification society. We have a fantastic cooperation with DNV,” states Bernard Meyer.
“We’re building bigger and bigger ships,” he says, “and all the largest cruise companies are our customers. In addition to Celebrity, for which we also built five ships from 1990-1997, we delivered four ships to Royal Caribbean Cruises from 2001–2004.”
Star Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line have taken delivery of seven ships so far since 1998 and the eighth, the Norwegian Pearl, will be delivered this year. The ninth, the Norwegian Gem, will be ready next year. In 2007, the AIDAdiva will be delivered to AIDA Cruises, a Carnival-owned German shipping company. Following this, a ship will be delivered in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Aker, Fincantieri and Meyer
Three European shipyard groups are fighting for the cruise ship contracts. Aker, with its cruise shipyards in Finland and France, Fincantieri in Italy – and Meyer in Germany.
“We’re the smallest. But we also feel we’re the winners. We build quality ships with no vibrations and good speed. Now we build the quietest ships in the world, and we build series of three, four or five ships,” says Bernard Meyer. “We build the ships inside a huge hall where we can work night and day. Obviously, this produces quality!”
Meyer can see that the competition from Asia will increase but the Meyer Shipyard is cooperating with the other European shipyards to maintain its lead.
“Together, we have a research programme funded by a total of Euro 39 million. Now we have an overall market share of 100%, but Japan, Korea and China are competing aggressively. We have to improve all the time to maintain our lead.”
Good reputation – good people
Bernard Meyer loves going on cruises – and as soon as there is an opportunity, often when a new ship is to be handed over, the employees are also invited on a trial cruise.
“We have a good reputation – and good employees. After all, we represent 2,300 jobs in an area of Germany where there are not so many alternative forms of employment. Because of our good reputation we have no difficulty in employing good shipbuilders and engineers.
Each year, the MEYER WERFT employs 75 new apprentices in 14 different professions.
“We are educating a lot of young people,” says Bernard Meyer. “We have an exciting mix of young and old employees. Their average age is 38 years, but we have people who’ve been here for more than 30 years. 70% of them own their own homes. Our employees enjoy their work. They feel they are successful. Although we view engineering expertise as the most important factor for our survival, we wouldn’t have managed to achieve our high quality without dedicated, skilled employees in all work areas.”