Goltens New Middle East Facility
Goltens Commences World Class Middle East Ship Repair Facility
• Second long-term ground development lease agreement for Dubai Maritime City – Industrial Precinct
• Deal sustains Dubai’s standing as the premier maritime hub in the Middle East
• Infrastructure and location to provide optimum service solutions to Goltens’ clients
Dubai, UAE, August 19, 2010: Goltens, the leading independent global provider of ship repair solutions, today confirmed leasing 23,000 square metres in Dubai Maritime City for the development of the world’s foremost ship repair facility.
Goltens is the first company to sign up for a plot in Dubai Maritime City – Industrial Precinct (DMC) in an official signing ceremony in Dubai and confirms that it will lease Industrial Precinct plots 6 and 7 for a period of 25 years.
“Shipowners around the world rely on us to solve critical repair projects. Now finalizing our agreement with the ship repair yard, Drydocks World, Jadaf Dubai, we can embark on building a new facility to consolidate all of our services in an optimum fashion under one roof, introduce some new services and provide additional capacity for future expansion,” said Paul Friedberg, President, Goltens Worldwide Service.
The 2.27 million square metre Dubai Maritime City – Industrial Precinct is divided into the Maritime Centre, the Industrial Precinct, The Academic Quarter, the Marina District, the Harbour Residence, and the Harbour Offices. The Maritime Centre District is the centrepiece of Dubai Maritime City and will serve as an international hub for maritime business.
This sector is a hub for ship repair facilities, yacht repair and manufacturing, as well as workshop units. The precinct is managed by Drydocks World, Jadaf Dubai. More than 100 workshops and warehouses complete the industrial precinct, offering a comprehensive range of facilities to businesses.
Speaking about the long-term lease agreement, Mr. Hamad Al Maghrabi, Managing Director of Jadaf and Shiplift, said: “Jadaf Dubai has a rich shipbuilding heritage in the Arabian Gulf and we are proud to build our excellence with professional companies. Goltens has been one of our key partners for 22 years and they have proved to be outstanding service providers.”
Despite the prolonged shipping crisis, the marine market has grown significantly in the Arabian Gulf and the Middle East and Friedberg expects further growth in throughput and sales and increasing market share.
“We are seeing viable signs of a market recovery. Despite a global shipping recession, there is a steady flow of ship repair activity and business. We are a global point of contact for best-in-class support, repairs and consulting. Our new workshop and repair/maintenance center will be our hub for the Middle East,” says the President of Goltens Worldwide Services.
The new DMC– Industrial Precinct integrated workshop facilities and administration/sales offices will be substantially larger than those at Goltens current location in Al Jadaf. An increased business portfolio, together with an expected future head count considerably larger than the current 520, has made facility expansion necessary. And Goltens also sees the move as a possibility to modernise their workshop and create a more flexible and efficient workspace.
“We have been bursting at the seams for some time. During the past five years, we have established seven new global repair centres, lifting our annual global ship repair revenue to close to USD 200 million. These new facilities will enable Goltens to meet the growing demand for specialist repair and maintenance services amongst shipowners and ship managers,” says Friedberg.
Goltens will start construction immediately and hopes to move into the new, more centrally located Dubai facilities by 3rrd quarter 2011.
The new facility will house both a large workshop and an administrative office in its new 15,000 square meter purpose built state of the art facility . The new purpose-built workshop will perform specialist 2/4 stroke diesel engine reconditioning and repair services including all associated engine room and mechanical services.
“Goltens is specialize in every major field of 2 / 4 stroke diesel engine overhaul and repair , including reconditioning of critical engine parts, in-situ repairs with modern purpose-built equipment, repair of fuel systems and governors and auxiliary systems to the engine as well as supply of spare parts,” says Friedberg.
“From our premier facilities in Dubai, we will serve our worldwide and Middle East clients with a comprehensive suite of repair services. Our goal is to bridge the downtime gaps caused by equipment breakdown and ensure shipowners operational continuity and protection of their ship investments,” says Friedberg.
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Additional statements:
Mr. Hamad Al Maghrabi - Managing Managing Director of Jadaf and Shiplift, said: “Goltens have demonstrated strong capabilities in all-inclusive services in ship repair and maintenance and our partnership with the company confirms our commitment to excellence and is in line with our policy of facilitating businesses that enhance Dubai’s standing as the premier maritime hub in the region.”
Mr. Paul Friedberg - President of Goltens Worldwide Service said: “In all our operations globally, we are focused on providing optimum service solutions at excellent value to our clients. The new repair facility places us in a better position to offer a comprehensive range of ship repair and maintenance solutions to our growing customer base in the region. After a long standing relationship with Drydocks World, Jadaf Dubai we are pleased to once again partner Jadaf Dubai at the new state of the art facilities in the Industrial Precinct – Dubai Maritime City.”