MacGregor in 2020 - successful integration, single largest vessel order to date
Following acquisition of the marine and offshore businesses of TTS Group in 2019, MacGregor made excellent progress in successfully integrating activities to better serve customers worldwide. It also achieved its synergy targets for the first full year of combined operation.
Whilst the coronavirus situation had a material impact on our merchant business, with the number of newbuild vessels ordered being relatively low, we continued to work resolutely in difficult market conditions and were able to secure important contracts in the passenger and cargo transport sectors in both Europe and Asia.
Our offshore business was positive overall during the year, and we continued the transfer of our oil & gas expertise and development of new technologies to expand further within the offshore wind energy segment.
Significant orders support transition towards renewable energy
In May, we received equipment orders for four offshore wind service vessels which will expand the Edda Wind fleet, the offshore wind business of Norway’s Østensjø Group.
In August, we booked our single largest vessel order to date for a mission-critical system to be installed on the OHT offshore wind foundation installation vessel, Alfa Lift, which is being built at the China Merchants Heavy Industry shipyard in Jiangsu, China.
The state-of-the-art pile gripper solution provides the most precise installation method for all monopile ranges, and will further lower offshore wind installation costs and make renewable energy more competitive.
Digital advancements increase operational availability
During the year we saw an accelerated interest in, and uptake of, our digitally-enabled services that enable cargo and load handling designs to be optimised, operational availability to be maximised and safety to be enhanced through simulator-based training.
We made good progress with the OnWatch Scout condition-based maintenance pilot installations, with several moving to commercial contracts and signed the first five-year service agreement with North Sea Shipping.
Global footprint advantage
With 60 service centres located in over 30 countries worldwide, our global services network and extensive customer support capabilities continued to demonstrate its value during 2020.
With technical experts unable to travel, the combination of locally based expertise and remote support helped customers to meet newbuild project deadlines, kept vessels operating and cargo flowing.
Strengthening our position within the maritime market
In 2021, we will continue to focus on profitable growth through strengthening our position within the specialised maritime segments in which we operate, supporting the development of renewable energy and making global cargo flow ever more sustainable.