Jobs and Growth to 2020 and beyond

2015 was very successful for MEYER WERFT and NEPTUN WERFT with many ships being handed over to their new owners and numerous new orders coming in for the years ahead. The order books for the shipyards in Papenburg, Rostock and Turku feature altogether 28 ships, including among others contracts for building large cruise ships and ferries. The Group's shipyards are therefore the international market leaders for building cruise ships and also lead the national market for civil shipbuilding.

Comprehensive employment was provided in 2015 by the building and completion of six river cruise ships for Viking River Cruises in Rostock, two cruise ships – Anthem of the Seas for Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Escape for Norwegian Cruise Line – in Papenburg together with the cruise ship Mein Schiff 4 for TUI Cruises in Finland.

It was also important for the shipyard that the Master Plan Ems was successfully adopted. "These successful achievements, all our investment and the level of job security that we offer mean that we have more than fulfilled our Site Continuation Agreement with the State of Lower Saxony and the IG Metall trade union", says CEO Bernard Meyer.

The NEPTUN WERFT in Rostock has acquired two further orders for river cruise ships. Furthermore, Neptun has taken a great step into the future with the gas tanker for Anthony Veder, a new ferry for W.D.R. and the decision to be the future production site for engine room modules and blocks for Papenburg and Turku. This production strategy ensures constant utilisation levels and sustainable site continuation.

In 2015, MEYER TURKU handed over Mein Schiff 4 to TUI Cruises, with Mein Schiff 5 following in 2016. Two more ships for TUI Cruises will also be built in 2016 and 2017. Furthermore, two new cruise ships have been ordered in Turku for Costa Crociere. These orders together with the order for a particularly environmentally friendly LNG ferry for the Estonian shipping company AS Tallink offer good prospects for growth and employment. Recently the remaining 30% ownership shares were taken over from the Finnish state.

Successful achievements for the MEYER WERFT included handing over the Anthem of the Seas (168,666 GRT) and the Norwegian Escape (164,400 GRT). AIDA Cruises has been regained as key account customer and has ordered two completely new kinds of ships with LNG propulsion for 2018 and 2020. Other new orders include two sister ships in the Quantum class and two ships for Saga Cruises.

With the Anthem of the Seas and the Norwegian Escape, the shipyard has built and delivered two very large cruise ships each well in excess of 160,000 GRT. "It has once again been a real challenge for the workforce to design these ships and build them in only just about 20 months. Thanks to the commitment and motivation of the employees, we have managed to hand over both ships on time and in technically perfect condition. We will need to keep this motivation going in future too to cope successful with all our major projects over the next few years," says Lambert Kruse, Managing Director of MEYER WERFT.

Eleven cruise ships, eight river cruise ships, a gas tanker and a ferry will be planned, designed and built over the next few years by NEPTUN WERFT and MEYER WERFT, while six cruise ships and a ferry will be built in Turku. These well-filled order books, paired with the consistent implementation of the corporate strategy, give the shipyards very good chances of holding their ground in the fiercely contested international shipbuilding market.

Photos:

The new cruise ship Ovation of the Seas in the building dock

“On Time to Sea” and “Designed for Sea” Industry Solution Experiences for Digital Collaborative Innovation

On the way in a new digital era: Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the 3DEXPERIENCE Company, world leader in 3D design software, 3D Digital Mock Up and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, and Meyer Werft, one of the world’s leading cruise ship builders, today announced that Meyer Werft is deploying Dassault Systèmes’ “On Time to Sea” and “Designed for Sea” industry solution experiences to more efficiently design and build its ocean-going cruise ships, enhance its innovation skills and expand its market leadership.

This deployment reinforces the long-standing cooperation between the two companies. Specifically, it supports Meyer Werft’s new Technology and Development Center in Papenburg, announced in November 2015, which will pool most of the design and development work from its 500 designers and engineers who are shaping the new features and developments of its future cruise ships. It will also support additional teams in Papenburg and at sites in Rostock, Germany and in Finland that are involved in building ocean-going cruise ships, river cruise ships, ferries and other vessels.

Building cruise ships is a particularly complex task compared to other industries. One cruise ship is made of more than 10 million individual parts and assemblies, compared to about one million parts for today’s largest passenger airplanes and about 10,000 parts for a car. The complexity, diversity and large volume of data involved require efficient solutions to design and build ships that stand out from those of competitors.

With “On Time to Sea” and “Designed for Sea,” based on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, Meyer Werft’s design and development teams can now rely on a unified digital environment to monitor the entire lifecycle of a ship, from its construction and operation to its decommissioning decades later. Virtual design, engineering and project management applications help seamlessly address complex needs in product development and process requirements.

“Since the 1980s, we’ve continually optimized cruise ship design with state-of-the-art technologies and, now, a new age is beginning,” said Philip Gennotte, Technical Director Meyer Werft. “Today’s shipbuilding is a highly modern industry that requires a combination of ideas, knowledge and technology in order to introduce sophisticated, future-oriented touristic concepts. Thanks to the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, we can foster collaborative creativity that fulfills the highest technical demands of customers worldwide from hull shape, hydrodynamics and fuel consumption, to capacity and onboard comfort and entertainment.”

“Meyer Werft has been a long-term customer and partner of Dassault Systèmes and, by adopting the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and industry solution experiences, can differentiate itself in the marketplace,” said Alain Houard, Vice President, Marine & Offshore Industry, Dassault Systèmes. “Each cruise ship is a highly complex, large-scale project that must satisfy customer requirements as well as meet stringent safety regulations. Meyer Werft can efficiently manage this complexity while ensuring high quality standards that, ultimately, help its cruise line customers offer a best-in-class passenger experience.”