Door Manufacturer Wren Completes Ferry Deal

Liverpool marine fabrication firm Wren Industrial has manufactured and installed a collection of new water-tight and fire-rated doors for leading U.K. ferry operator Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

The welding and fabrication specialist has a long-standing relationship with the famous ferry firm, which is renowned as the oldest continuously operating passenger shipping company in the world - founded in 1830.

The latest contract involved ‘through-night’ door maintenance onboard freight, passenger and vehicle ferries the Manannan and Ben-my-Chree. Wren Industrial, which was founded in 1990 and recently bought by Merseyside entrepreneur and former member of the Armed Forces Jonathan Willoughby, designed, manufactured and installed the new doors.

Wren engineers traveled to the Port of Heysham in Lancashire to carry out the installation work while sailing overnight to avoid disruption to service.

"The installation of new doors on the Manannan and Ben-my-Chree involved full removal and replacement of a number of doors,” said Willoughby. “This included all the fixtures and fittings from handles and locks to seals and latches. The new doors were designed and fabricated with mild-steel which we treated at our manufacturing hall in Liverpool, before being transported and welded into position. They will be used by passengers and crew and are made to a high grade, water-tight and fire-rated specification. 

“We work with more than 70 classification and approval bodies depending on our clients’ requirements including DNV GL and Lloyd's Register. The doors are key to safety preventing water moving from one compartment to another if there is damage to the hull and water is coming into the ship. The doors reduce flooding or delay it long enough to allow for an evacuation of a vessel. A key part of this job involved completing the work within a tight time frame, to ensure no disruption to the service.

“Wren Industrial has been working in the commercial maritime market for close to 30 years and specifically with the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for more than 20 years. During that period we have developed a strong relationship which has seen the maintenance and replacement of internal and external doors, windows and hatches across the vast majority of the vessel fleet. Vessel safety is paramont and Wren’s doors, windows and hatches are respected as being among the best engineered, tested and priced in the global maritime sector.

Willoughby, aged 46, with 25 years’ experience in the oil and gas sector also runs welding and fabrication company Yorkwall Engineering in Ellesmere Port. He is aiming to double turnover at Wren in the next 12 months. The purchase forms part of a broader ‘build and buy’ strategy which will see the addition of more complementary engineering companies, eventually merging all into one new brand name.

“While the commercial maritime sector is pivotal to our growth strategy at Wren, we are also targeting military, leisure, offshore oil and gas, as well as renewable markets,” he said. “We have a number of heavyweight project in the pipeline which we are looking to land towards the back end of Autumn, including a high-level military contract. On land, we are also aiming to ramp up work in the industrial market building on excellent work we have delivered for the likes of Lloyd & Jones industrial supplies and Kirby pump maker Selwood.

“Wren benefits greatly from a robust track record, developed of decades, working for the likes of the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Wren is well-known for its high-quality engineering capability and excellent customer service standards. Wren Industrial is a problem solver and the deep knowledge of our 20-strong engineering team is massively important to the success of our business. This level of expertise allows us to undertake virtually any welding and fabrication job on any type of vessel. The scale of our operation with a 6,000 sq ft workshop and wide range of plant equipment further enables us to work with many materials including carbon steel, stainless steel, copper, brass, aluminium and plastics.”