De Haas Shipyards Sees More Demand After Adding 820 Ton Marine Travelift

 

De Haas Shipyards, located at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, has been a longstanding Marine Travelift customer since their first purchase of a 70-ton capacity boat hoist in 1997. Their family-owned independent company has been in business for almost 150 years and has had to adapt to the ever-changing industry throughout the years. The latest adaptation involved the purchase of a Marine Travelift 820C (820 metric ton capacity) mobile boat hoist put into operation in 2022 and is their fourth machine from Marine Travelift since 1997.

As ships continued to get larger and are now equipped with more complicated propulsion systems such as thrusters and waterjets, De Haas started the planning process for a new solution that would most safely and efficiently handle these vessels. The decision to go with a high-capacity mobile boat hoist from Marine Travelift was an easy decision over alternatives, especially with the relationship that had already been established. “The Marine Travelift has proved to be the most efficient solution to handle the large number of boats without limitations you see with slipways, dock capacity or tide fluctuation”, says Govert de Haas, Owner of de Haas Shipyards.

Up until de Haas started buying Marine Travelift boat hoists they had used slipways, which prevented the yard from reaching their full potential. The new 820C boat hoist has allowed the versatility needed to work on more vessels simultaneously, and bring in new business with the added lift capacity. Govert says, “The more versatile multi-sling layout is well designed so we can put the slings on the hull where we want them.” He went on to add, “It’s impressive to experience how easy the 820-ton machine is to drive with the all-wheel steering system and the strong construction gives us complete control and faith when moving vessels.”

De Haas planned for the added business the new 820C machine would bring but they experienced a larger uptick than they had even expected. With the increased demand for their services, de Haas organized a campaign leveraging social media to attract new people and expand their crew. “Working with modern equipment in a nice environment definitely helps to attract new people”, exclaims Govert.

The Marine Travelift 820-ton machine joins the 70-ton purchased in 1997 as well as two 100-ton units bought in 2004 and 2016 respectively. The relationship between de Haas Shipyards and Marine Travelift was built on an excellent product with great customer support. Govert explains, “Feels like family and we appreciate the long-term relationship. There is an ocean between us, but we do business like we are around the corner.”

The world’s first mobile boat hoist was conceptualized and manufactured in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin in 1945. Officially established in 1954, Marine Travelift Inc. has a long-standing reputation as a marine industry leader and is recognized for its tradition of excellence on a global scale. The company manufactures mobile boat hoists, marine forklifts, self-propelled transporters and other related marine lifting products. It also has an extensive U.S. and international dealer network, with more than 4,000 units in service worldwide.