Marine Equipment Manufacturers: We supply the largest shipyards

With the model of the competitiveness of Greek shipping and in close cooperation with it, the Greek manufacturers of shipping equipment have managed to be at the top choices of foreign shipowners and shipyards.

The president of Hemexpo, the Hellenic Association of Marine Equipment Manufacturers, Eleni Polychronopoulou speaking to “NEA” newspaper stated that Greek companies have managed to faithfully serve two values: “smart ship solutions” and “value for money”, resulting in exports today accounting for about 50% of industry revenue.

What is Hemexpo’s relationship with Greek shipping?

To tell the truth, the fate of our project, from the first moment, was directly dependent on the response of the Greek shipping community. If the Greek shipowners did not support our effort, we would not have reached today about 50% of the industry’s revenues. Greek shipowners, either individually or at the level of institutions, stood by us, either guiding us or preferring Greek companies for the systems they install on their ships.

It was our main advantage in the global competition, because no matter how good we were, no matter how innovative, no matter how low the prices, we could not be accepted by the Asian shipyards, which mainly promote local industries. But even today the cooperation between our companies and Greek shipping is close. The challenges for the coming years in terms of shipping are great (both in terms of decarbonization and in terms of digitization). Being in the same country and speaking the same language, the shipping and manufacturing companies work closely together to develop the most suitable products for Greek, and not only, shipping.

Are the products and services of Greek companies competitive?

From the first moment, the Greek shipping equipment companies faithfully served two values: “smart ship solutions” and “value for money”. After all, it was the first thing we were told by the shipping companies. To be innovative and competitive. So, and we did. Since we can not compete with the cost in Asia, we sought to create smart products that will add value to ships and “return” part of the cost to companies.

Our planning proved to be correct by results. That is, we have managed, as I mentioned above, to secure about 50% of our turnover from exports, while in recent years the clientele of most companies in the sector has expanded to shipping companies abroad. Companies which, after seeing our systems on Greek-owned ships, were convinced of our capabilities and put us on their list of partners. In addition, after much effort, and this is perhaps the most remarkable, we have been included in the supplier lists of some of the largest shipyards in the world. This practically means that Greek manufacturers are included in the list of manufacturers that shipyards present to their customers.

What are the main challenges facing the shipping equipment industry?

At this point, I have to tell you that we are no different from the rest of the world. The green transition, the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) factor that we gradually expect to be the main factor in controlling the viability of a company, but also digitization and artificial intelligence, the 4th Industrial Revolution, are challenges that we will be called to face all. I would say that today the world is in uncharted waters in the sense that what we are trying to achieve is being done for the first time in the human revolution. And the risk is twofold. If you are what we call a primary mover, the chances are high, and the chances are high, especially when we are talking about medium and small companies, to fail both due to high costs and possible wrong choice. On the other hand, if you stand still and do not take steps forward, it is certain that very soon you will become unsustainable. So you move forward by making very well thought out moves, and seeking broader collaborations in all sectors.