MHI establishes two specialized companies

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said it will establish two new group companies at its Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works’ Koyagi Plant. 

One company will undertake ship construction and the other will manufacture hull blocks, the company said in a statement. It also intends to transfer its operations in construction of large-size commercial ships in the Nagasaki district to the new firms. The company will separate cruise ship construction from its commercial ship business and operate as an engineering business under a new organization to be launched within the Commercial Aviation & Transportation Systems business domain.

Of the two new companies, the ship construction entity will be launched as a company succeeding to MHI Ship & Ocean Engineering, an MHI group company, that will undertake sales, engineering, procurement, manufacture, construction and repair services. New ship construction operations will focus on LNG and LPG carriers, vessels that are expected to be in strong demand beyond the near term. The overarching goal is to strengthen cost competitiveness by streamlining production through continuous construction of gas carriers; by enhancing efficiency through the development of a more compact organization; and by streamlining administrative processes within a more dynamic business structure.

According to MHI, the hull block manufacturing company will initially get under way in the form of a preparatory company, followed by an absorption-type split. The new entity will specialize in large-scale hull blocks and will pursue enhanced productivity primarily by continuous construction of such blocks and refurbishing of its physical plant. Besides supplying blocks to the new ship construction company, the firm will also promote their sale to customers outside the MHI Group. Plans also call for annual production volume to be progressively expanded.

MHI presently undertakes shipbuilding operations in commercial vessels at two locations, Nagasaki and Shimonoseki, having gradually consolidated from its original five ship construction bases in response to changes in the commercial ship market commencing in the 1980s.

No changes will be made in the structures of shipbuilding activities for commercial vessels at Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works and vessels for the Japan Ministry of Defense at Nagasaki Shipyard.

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Image: MHI