Page 86 - Damen Shipyards Group

86 INTERVIEW | KOMMER DAMEN
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR FAMILY?
We are a very close family. My children are very close to each other and
also to me and I am close to them. They don’t always think the same,
though they are all very decisive. When it comes to the company, they
cooperate very well and accept the differences between themselves.
WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE YOUR GRANDCHILDREN TO
FOLLOW YOU INTO SHIPBUILDING?
Yes, absolutely. I already try to infl uence them; I ask them to make
me drawings of boats and I have a special archive for that – also for
drawings my children made when they were young. I think it’s a nice
industry, a nice way of life, so I will encourage them. I cannot think of
anything better as a profession.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE PEOPLE YOU STARTED
WORKING WITH IN 1969 AND DO YOU SEE THE
SAME CHARACTERISTICS IN DAMEN PEOPLE TODAY?
When I started out there were only seven of us. We were all young
people so we didn’t see any risks. We were very enthusiastic, we
worked extremely hard and we were very successful. Today, some
Damen people are a lot older – like me! If I look at Young Damen
(company group arranging social and professional get-togethers for
DID YOU EVER HAVE AMBITIONS TO DO young employees and students) though they are more or less alike,
ANYTHING OTHER THAN SHIPBUILDING? there’s a lot the same. Happily.
I never thought about anything else. I grew up in a family of
shipbuilders. We lived on the yard – literally. My father sent me to a
shipbuilding academy where I studied marine engineering and naval THE STANDARDISATION OF SHIPS HAS CLEARLY BEEN
architecture. After I left the navy, I went to work with my father and he A GREAT SUCCESS – ONE THAT DEMONSTRABLY
appointed me as general manager aged just 23. WORKED BEFORE WHEN THE VENETIANS
STANDARDISED WARSHIP PRODUCTION IN THE
MIDDLE AGES – WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES THIS
PHILOSOPHY SO SUCCESSFUL?
It was the same with the Dutch in the 17 century. Around Amsterdam
th
they were turning out ships every day for sailing to the Baltic, Far East
and the West Indies. Cargo ships and naval vessels that were very
standardised. I think it’s the best way to success – you can continue to
improve and it’s much cheaper. You make less mistakes and everything
is more predictable. Because of this, in contracts, you can easily accept
conditions because you know exactly what’s going to happen.
Kommer Damen in the summer of ‘69
COULD THE DAMEN STORY HAPPEN TODAY?
It’s very diffi cult to say. When I started the company in the form it is in
today, it was 1969, so quite a different time. But still, we have the same
principles, building ships in series, trying to standardise and setting up
a worldwide service organisation. So, if I should have the means to do
it, I think it would be the same.
WOULD DAMEN BE THE SAME COMPANY IF IT WAS
NOT A FAMILY BUSINESS?
Certainly not. If we should have shareholders, they would be much
more impatient about fi nancial results and dividends. It is because we
are a family company that we could make risky, sometimes loss-making,
acquisitions.
When you analyse your clients’ markets, you can
design a standard vessel that will be better, cheaper,
faster for delivery, with a higher re-sale value.
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DO YOU THINK THERE ARE LIMITS TO
STANDARDISATION?
There are certain vessels that you can’t standardise, but I think almost
every type you can. When you analyse your clients’ purpose and use
of their vessel and their markets, you can design a standard vessel that
will be better, cheaper, faster for delivery, with a higher re-sale value.
And that, because the banks can predict its re-sale value, is easier to
fi nance.
WHAT IS YOUR OWN PERSONAL
FAVORITE DAMEN VESSEL?
I think the Stan Tug 1606. It is an extremely compact and powerful tug.
Very economically priced and lasts for ever. We started building them in
in 1972 and they’re still practically the same boat today.
SHIPBUILDING EXPERIENCES CYCLICAL PEAKS AND
TROUGHS, WHAT HAS KEPT YOU GOING WHEN THE
INDUSTRY HAS BEEN EXPERIENCING DIFFICULT TIMES?
Responsibility. You don’t want to end your life being unsuccessful.
That’s not how you want to be remembered. So that keeps you going.
Damen Stan Tug 1606, Kommer Damen’s personal favourite vessel.
THIS YEAR’S DAMEN MAGAZINE HAS A FOCUS ON
SUSTAINABILITY, WHAT DOES SUSTAINABILITY MEANS ANOTHER AREA OF INTENSE FOCUS AT THIS MOMENT
TO YOU AND TO THE INDUSTRY? IS DIGITALISATION. WE HAVE HEARD A LOT ABOUT
It is a challenging subject for our industry. For example, you can’t HOW THIS MAY SHAPE OUR PRODUCTS IN THE FUTURE.
expect a ship owner to suddenly start using more expensive fuel, DO YOU THINK THAT DIGITALISATION IS ALSO GOING
it would threaten his ability to compete in the marketplace and his TO AFFECT HOW WE APPROACH OUR CLIENTS?
business model would become unsustainable. So, you need regulations The internet makes it possible to investigate the possibilities of buying
in order to have a level playing fi eld. The technical solutions are there a boat, so communication is totally different to what it was years ago.
and I think we will see a lot of progress in the coming years.
We have of course quite a number of people involved in Damen’s
I see huge growth in renewable energy – wind, tidal, solar – there presence on the internet; we are talking to clients this way.
will be enormous changes, but no one knows exactly what they will I also think you cannot change to the extent that we will only
look like. In any case, it’s good that we do our part to ensure a clean communicate with our clients via the internet. There is a personal
environment. We are already ahead in many fi elds – we have electric context though that will still require meetings, paper and pictures.
ferries, we had the fi rst hybrid tugs. We are fully invested in lowering
emissions.
LOOKING AHEAD, WHERE WOULD YOU
We also realise that the young employees of Damen are committed to LIKE DAMEN TO BE IN 50 YEARS?
improving the world. We see that worldwide and that’s another reason We are going to have extremely disruptive changes within the next 50
we want to adapt ourselves to sustainability. years, but we are still going to need ships. I think seaborne transport
could be less. You saw in the past that seaborne transport was growing
at twice the rate as the growth of the world economy. Today it’s about
equal. But you will always have transport of commodities.
It’s diffi cult to say what the ships of the future will look like. Will people
still travel the world for leisure? Will dredging be done from the shore?
How will fi shing and aquaculture develop? Will the global population
continue to grow? Will vessels be unmanned?
So I think there are a lot of unanswered questions. I think the only
thing we have to do is look about 10 years ahead and try to adapt
ourselves to those 10 years. Then we can keep the company ahead of
developments and try to be a leader, which we are in many fi elds.
So I don’t know what the future ships will be, I only know that Damen
will be building them.