New markets gloom for award nominee

Specialising in propeller shaft seals, Aegir Marine has built up a worldwide client base among ship owners operating cargo vessels. Intense customer orientation got them nominated for the European Business Awards. The company now looks at other market segments and works at broadening their global presence.

‘‘Even though every company within the maritime industry has a truly international orientation and operates in the modern 24/7 economy, round-the-clock availability still appears to be a unique selling point for Aegir Marine.” Managing director Ruud Muis underlines service is the main driver for his company’s success. ”It is not a marketing tool or a trick to try and outsmart competition, we really do believe in this approach. Ship owners need this kind of quick response, short time service. If their ship is out of operation too long for repairs, it will cost them a fortune. Helping a customer right away is a promise we will keep, be it on Christmas eve or any other bank holiday.”

This approach has helped establishing Aegir Marine in a market that already had a steady group of suppliers, a market in which they are not OEM (original equipment manufacturers) but act as an after market service company. The companies that build the original propeller shaft seals, have their service departments, too. This means that with the start-up of Aegir Marine in November 2000, they really needed to stand out from the companies in whose market they infiltrated.

Express delivery of stern tube seals and parts is essential in helping ship owners getting their fleet in operation as soon as possible. Aegir Marine was able to build a global network of five offices and 21 agents. Like from the

We sell confidence

company headquarters in Wijk bij Duurstede, the Netherlands, clients are approached and service contracts are agreed in four additional offices in Shanghai, Singapore, Walvisbaai (Namibia) and Hampton (Virginia) in the United States. Agents, located at global shipping

Brazil and Chile are interesting markets to explore

hubs, hold stock parts and make sure delivery of parts or complete seals can always be done over relatively short distances.

Confidence

”Stern tube seals are very critical”, Muis points out. ‘”They must close off the often very wide propeller shafts completely, so no water can come into the ship. In the opposite direction, the seal must not leak any oil into the water, while the seals and bearings are often lubricated by an oil bath. Any malfunctioning of these seals will immediately halt ship operation. So what we sell is confidence. Ship owners need to be convinced that with our seals, they will have a safe and clean operation of their vessels and have a long life span before needing to repair or replace the seal. The only way to achieve that is by building a strong reputation. I am happy to see our clients return and trust us with such delicate service, whereas the company is yet quite young.”

”We started in 2000, following market demand”, the founder and managing director recalls. ‘‘In my previous job as a sales representative, I met some contacts from the maritime industry that knew me as a seafarer and service professional. They asked me if I would be interested in starting a service company for the installation of stern tube seals. If so, they would be glad to be the first customers. Chances like that for starting a business are not often presented, so I found partner Hans Dekker to join in the adventure and we just started. Of course, we could not start operations all around the world at instance. The first years, we concentrated on servicing clients in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Our client base was mainly in the segment of cargo vessels, a lot of them coasters.”

Containers, general cargo, bulk carriers and tankers are large vessels that mostly have one main propulsion screw, driven by a large shaft with a 600 millimetre up to 1,200 millimetre diameter. While the company has found new clients over the years, also the largest bulk carrier in the world, as well as the largest container ship in world, navigate the seas equipped with Aegir Marine shaft seals. The way Aegir Marine works, appears to attract new clients while the old ones cling to the level of service provided. ‘‘Growth has evolved by our acquisition, but also by the fact that people in this industry are mobile”, Muis smiles. ‘‘If a ship intendant, fleet manager or anyone involved in operations for a ship owners’ company changes jobs, they might ask in the new workplace: who do you go to for stern tube seals? If this person has had good experiences with us in his previous job, he or she might introduce us in the next company he is working with, as well.”

Intervals

During the recent years of economic slowdown, Aegir Marine has seen a continuation of turnover growth. As a relatively young company, they have not reached their market potential yet and keep finding new clients. Growth for service and maintenance companies also is a direct result of the global setback. ”Yards see orders slowing down, ship owners decide to keep up operations with older vessels for a longer time”, Muis explains. ”Older vessels need more maintenance. We perform both preventive maintenance and urgent repairs. Of course, to seal a propeller shaft watertight, we cannot work while the shaft is in the water. Some ship owners make sure the seal is serviced and secure during docking of the ship, done with three to five year intervals. If serviced well, the seal should easily keep up until the next docking. As seals have a longer lifespan, sometimes the docking service is not considered necessary, increasing the risk for malfunction in between dockings. Then we need to work on the ship whilst it is in the water. Some of the smaller ships can be trimmed forward so the stern may rise out of the water. This way, we can do the necessary repairs quite quickly without the need for the vessel to be docked. Another option is that we just create a dry working space around the shaft by installing a tent and blowing it empty with pressurised air. As an independent supplier of service and parts, we now have seals for about 70% of all stern tube seal systems used in shipping. We have the parts manufactured, exclusively in Western Europe, under our own brand.”

New markets, regions and products

Muis appears quite optimistic about future developments for his company. ‘‘In these first 13 years, our market has been in cargo shipping. There are no technical boundaries for us to start operating in other markets, like inland shipping, dredging, offshore, heavy lifting, fishing, the navy or cruise ships. Realistic chances for company growth lay in the opening of these markets for our services. To enter in these new segments of the maritime industry, we need to expand our network. It is a different group of buyers and companies operating in these segments. Growth however can also come from recently started international offices, like the one in the United States. We also really want to explore possibilities in Brazil, with its suddenly emerging offshore industry. The country of Chile also presents an interesting market. There has always been a maritime industry there, resulting in a higher level of local knowledge and technical advancement than in Brazil. This might make understanding of the advantages of our approach bigger. Other countries we are active at the moment are the CIS-countries, from the Commonwealth of Independent States – the former Soviet Union territory. Around the Black Sea, we discover a lot of potential from a developing offshore industry.”

Aegir Marine was nominated to represent the Netherlands in the European Business
Awards. The company stood out from other Dutch companies for innovation, business
excellence and sustainability. In the prize giving ceremony, Aegir Marine could win
the Award for Customer Focus, The Import/Export Award as well as the Infosys
Business of the Year Award. Elections for the European Awards are in November.

The company is offering a wider array of services since 2008, when Aegir Marine Propulsion Services was founded. As an addition to sealing the shaft, this company branch also performs service and optimisation on propellers and drive shaft gear boxes. ”Adding these extra services to the whole line of customers we service, can be a target for the next decade”, Muis looks ahead. ”If we install a seal, one technician goes to a vessel to perform the job. When we service the whole propulsion train, we send out a crew of four or five. This of course results in added turnover. However, we will keep up the same quick response service. That has been the company’s greatest growth potential.”

Hans Buitelaar