Nakashima takes majority stake in Becker Marine Systems

Japanese manufacturer of marine propellers Nakashima Propeller Co. Ltd. has acquired a majority stake in the German shipbuilding supplier Becker Marine Systems GmbH.

As explained, the two companies together can make “good use” of the product portfolios that complement each other well in the aft ship area.

By combining their product portfolios, Nakashima Propeller and Becker Marine Systems, which manufactures rudders and maritime energy-saving devices, can not only deliver their own technical solutions for medium-sized and large ship types but also offer more efficient combined systems for the aft section of vessels.

“We have gotten to know Nakashima Propeller as a much respected and reliable partner through decades of cooperation,” Dirk Lehmann and Henning Kuhlmann, the two managing directors at Becker Marine Systems, said, adding that because Becker Marine Systems is a supplier in the area in front of and behind the propeller, the cooperation with the renowned propeller manufacturer is “a perfect fit“.

Both family companies will aim to be able to offer “a very well-coordinated” set of technologies in both the newbuilding and retrofit sectors, according to the duo.

The companies will now offer packages from products such as Nakashima’s propellers and bow thruster systems and Becker‘s manoeuvring systems, energy-saving devices and battery solutions. Both companies also have Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) departments, which will be used even more efficiently together.

„Becker and Nakashima have started the cooperation since 1978. This time, we are pleased to enhance the strategic partnership with Becker Marine Systems through this agreement… We will make a significant contribution to total optimisation for propulsive performance as well as manoeuvring performance to our customers during the entire lifecycle of ships,” Takayoshi Nakashima, Nakashima‘s President, as well as Lehmann and Kuhlmann, who will continue to hold the position of managing directors, said.

As Nakashima Propeller and Becker Marine Systems benefit even more from the new partner‘s additional product portfolio in the future, the merger of the two companies will be advantageous for shipowners and shipyards concerning the use of an optimised maritime technology package and a global service network that is active in all time zones, the two companies further explained.