Oldendorff Centenary Book - Flipbook - Page 322
The ECOBOX type
of vessel of which
a total of ten units
have been ordered
so far, has proved
a very successful
product line.
A new subsidiary company
came into being in March 1995.
Operating from the Egon Oldendorff
headquarters at Lübeck, Concept
Carriers GmbH & Co. KG is a ship
and cargo operator which will
complement the activities of its
parent company and which offers
additional and new business
opportunities.
Concept Carriers is a member of the
growing ‘family’ of EO companies
and benefits from the financial
backing and resources of its parent.
However, it carries out its activities
as an independent and separate
business unit led by Frank Eger.
Thus far it has primarily relied on
time chartered tonnage for worldwide carriage of bulk and unitised
commodities booked variously as
parcels, full cargoes or under
contracts of affreightment. In its
successful first ten months of
operation, Concept Carriers typically
had around seven or eight vessels
of between 28,000 and 45,000 tdw
on long period timecharter, while
more than 100 fixtures for timecharter trips ranging from 40
to 60 days have been concluded
for similar tonnage. For Egon
Oldendorff, Concept Carriers is
a valuable learning experience
ultimately aimed at obtaining
better access to cargoes.
Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft
mbH & Co. KG (FSG) will continue
to face challenges as it moves into
the second half of the 1990s under
its managing director, Fred Garbe.
The shipyard had been rescued,
in March 1990, by Egon Oldendorff,
after a four-year bankruptcy period
with not a single order in its books.
Since then, the shipyard has
achieved a remarkable turnaround.
318
Its order book is filled into the year
1997, seven years after the company
was acquired. More than 20
contracts worth in excess of
DM 1 billion represent a successful
come-back for FSG which has a
reputation for quality workmanship,
solid steel construction methods
and for keeping delivery dates.
The hardest part was changing the
production planning methods and
improving efficiency. In the event,
productivity has been vastly
improved, and the yard now turns
out three large vessels per annum,
as compared with the previous two,
with an unchanged workforce of
600 dedicated employees. The
ECOBOX type of vessel of which a
total of ten units have been ordered
so far, has proved a very successful
product line. As FSG is about to enter
its 125th year, market conditions are
still fiercely competitive. A strong
national currency, extremely high
wages and social expenses add
to the burdens. FSG will have to
continue to improve its productivity
and to make use of ‘financial
engineering’ tools to be able to
offer attractive packages to its
customers.
