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Makale

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION AND ACTIVITIES IN THE NAVAL VESSEL FIELD

Tarih: Issue 14 - January 2009

Fincantieri is one of the world?s largest shipbuilding groups, active in the design and construction of naval and merchant vessels. It is the world leader in the construction of cruise ships, the reference builder for large ferries, and enjoys a strong presence in the military field. The company has also recently entered the promising luxury mega yacht sector, and is also present in the ship repair and conversion field thanks to dedicated facilities in the Mediterranean and northern Europe. Fincantieri has recently established Fincantieri Marine Group thanks to the acquisition of Manitowoc Marine Group in Wisconsin, one of the leading mid-sized shipbuilders in the United States for commercial and government customers (e.g. U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard).
In Italy and abroad, Fincantieri employs a staff of approximately 10,500 (30,000 counting ancillary industries) working within an integrated productive network, that includes in Italy 8 shipyards, two design centres employing approximately 1,000 technical staff, a naval research centre, and two manufacturing units dedicated to the production of naval systems and components.
The value of the company production amounts to Euro 2,9 billion, over 60% of which is destined to exports. The order book is currently at the sum of approximately Euro 10,8 billion.

Fincantieri is a complex yet cohesive company, where technologies and solutions arising from activities developed in the naval and merchant fields are integrated to develop advanced, innovative products. Our internal synergies, and more generally the flexibility of our productive system, enable us to significantly reduce production times and distribute workload evenly between the group?s facilities, thus strengthening the company?s competitive advantage. The transfer of know-how among the company?s sectors is a strategic factor and one of the company?s main assets.

? In the naval field, Fincantieri is a reference builder offering a wide range of products including surface ships, submarines, and special ships. At the national level, it is the reference partner of the Italian Navy, the Coast Guard, and other State authorities for the design, construction, and logistical support of their surface fleet, submarines, and main auxiliary units.

? Clients are ensured appropriate integrated logistical support through the training of personnel, technical assistance, and supply of spare parts. Fincantieri supervises its vessels throughout their entire life cycle, guaranteeing the planning of maintenance activities and performance of ordinary, extraordinary and refitting work, either at its own facilities or at those chosen by the customer.

? Technology, innovation, and customization are fundamental assets to operate in the naval field, that has shown an overturn with respect to recent trends. Actually, this sector is currently experiencing a market upswing, and Fincantieri?s remarkable commitment in both commercial and planning terms has led to significant market success. The company offers well-proven products along with highly innovative projects, attracting the interest of numerous foreign navies (Turkey, India, Iraq, UAE).

? Generally speaking, there are clear recovery signals regarding the fleet renewal needs on the part of several navies, especially in countries that are not able to fulfil such requirements only through their national industries. For this reason, Fincantieri has multiplied its commercial efforts abroad, participating in several tenders that have already achieved significant results and are expected to keep up the exceptional results. This will help the company to achieve an increasingly important presence on the international market, renewing the group?s important traditional role in this sector. Some difficulty remains in actually securing orders, since limited defence budgets often lead to the scaling down or postponement of new programs.

? The slowdown in national and foreign programmes ? a trend that all companies working in the defence sector, not only Fincantieri, have to face ? brings about the necessity to consider alternative productions and enhance available skills through the acquisition of orders in adjoining markets. Fincantieri has thus recently acquired important orders for 14 multi-purpose anchor handling, towage, and supply vessels for German and Italian owners.

? Fincantieri is partner to some of Europe?s leading defence companies in several cross-border programs. The most recent partnerships include the cooperation with the German Submarine Consortium for the construction of submarines for the Italian (4) and German navies, and with France?s DCNS in the ?Orizzonte? (2 destroyers) and FREMM (multi-task frigates) programs.

The latter program, carried out by Orizzonte Sistemi Navali S.p.A (51% Fincantieri, 49% Finmeccanica) as the Italian partner and by Armaris (DCNS + Thales) as the French partner, involves the construction of 27 multi-task frigates of different configurations, 17 for the French Navy and 10 for the Italian one (funds for the construction of the first 6 units have already been allocated), with a commitment on the part of Fincantieri?s construction facilities that extends to 2020. The novelty of the FREMM program lies in the fact that the customer interacts with a single figure fulfilling the roles of Warship Design Authority and Prime Contractor. A further mission of Orizzonte Sistemi Navali is to provide customers with integrated logistical support over each warship?s life cycle.

? In addition to its production for the military sector, Fincantieri also designs and builds highly complex marine components and systems in the fields of propulsion and power generation, stabilization, and dynamic positioning through the development of engineering systems that guarantee the correct integration of components. The company also manufactures turbines and products to be used ashore, in particular industrial diesel engines, engines for traction up to 2,500 kW and steam engines up to 35,000 kW.