Marine Log - November 2007 - (Page 71) EXPORTING THE SECRETS OFSUCCESS Three U.S. companies share experiences in exporting their products and services to China I t’s no secret that China wants to be the world’s top shipbuilder. That’s spelled out clearly in China’s National Medium and Long-Term Plan of the Shipbuilding Industry, issued in August 2006, which estimates that China’s shipyard capacity will reach 17 million dwt by 2010 and become the No. 1 shipbuilding power by 2015. While these ships will bear “built in China” labels, much of the marine equipment onboard will have a European pedigree. Europe remains the cradle of marine equipment technology, with an annual turnover estimated at EURO 26 billion, with some 46% for export outside of Europe. Many European marine equipment manufacturers have established strong footholds in the Chinese shipbuilding market, either through direct supply, manufacturing licensing agreements or joint ventures. The U.S. Commercial Service, part of the U.S. Commerce Department, also rightly points out that China presents some excellent opportunities for U.S. companies. In particular, the U.S. Commercial Service says coating equipment and coating materials, Computer Aided Design (CAD) software and associated technology for ship design and construction, equipment maintenance, global positioning systems, navigation and on board computer systems, cutting and welding technology and related equipment. “China wants to be the top shipbuilder in the world, and, in order to achieve that, they are going out and looking for the best products in the world,” says Andy Becker, vice president, director of marketing, Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc. (CPMT). “People are always talking about China exporting machine tools to the U.S. We’re bucking that trend.” The Newberg, Oregon-based manufacturer supplies standard and customized on-site portable machine tools such as boring machines, flange spacers, portable lathes, automatic bore welders, circular machines and milling machines. Shipbuilding represents about 30 to 35% of CMPT’s business, with China being the company’s largest export market, according to Becker. Stern tube boring machines, such as the one shown, have been supplied by Climax Portable MachineTools to shipyards in Korea and China So just how did that happen? Becker explains that it all began to come together about three years ago. “One of China’s big shipyard groups, Bohai Shipyard, was using a home-made stern tube boring machine. We provided them with one of our standard boring machines and they were able to cut in half the time they needed to perform the stern tube boring operation. They were so impressed they invited us to do a training class. They brought in machinists from nine of their yards and we conducted a three- or four-day training class on stern tube boring. Based on that training class, several of the other yards have ordered stern tube boring equipment from us.” About 80% of CMPT’s tools are manufactured in Newberg and the remaining 20% in Duren, Germany, with nine rental depots and 20 distributors worldwide. www.marinelog.com NOVEMBER 2007 MARINE LOG 71 http://www.marinelog.com
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