DMC and Royal Bodewes: working with a ‘same wavelength’ philosophy

How does Damen Marine Components (DMC) truly support its customers? The recent contracts of DMC and Royal Bodewes are a perfect demonstration of this. On paper, the scope of these four contracts is just what you’d expect from DMC: steering gear, bridge controls and propeller nozzles for four newbuild vessels (three 120-metre Bodewes Eco Traders and one 87-metre long Ro-Ro vessel). However, it’s the collaborative philosophy behind DMC’s relationship with Royal Bodewes that is notable.

“Royal Bodewes is a renowned European builder of sustainable vessels for the short sea shipping sector,” begins DMC Sales Manager Marnix de Bruijn. “A lot of their success is due to their clever building strategy of highly sustainable cargo coastal vessels. They have developed very productive engineering and production processes. This enables them to build sustainable ships within very efficient timeframes – this is key in competing with non-European yards. As one of their suppliers, it is our job to align our own processes and products to match theirs. This is what we have been working on with Royal Bodewes in our 10-plus years working relationship.”

“The outcome of this is that our design, engineering, manufacture, testing, installation and commissioning processes all operate on the same wavelength as those of Royal Bodewes. The recent four contracts are a good illustration of this: we aim to match them in every step of the way.”

DMC will be implementing this ‘same wavelength’ way of thinking into every system that will be delivered to Royal Bodewes for these four contracts: from the control and alarm panels on the bridge, to the steering gear below decks, all the way to the nozzles at the stern. As for the choice of systems, DMC prides itself on supporting its clients with product selection assistance. “The larger the ship, the larger the rudder, and therefore the greater the torque that the steering gear will need to handle,” explains Marnix. “We advise our clients with selection of the right equipment for their specific project.”

DMC is well-known for this advisory role when working with clients; this corresponds with its belief in ‘improving vessel performance’. As a thought leader, DMC aims to go above and beyond client expectations. This includes thinking about how its products are integrated into a ship. The way DMC has designed its steering gear systems is a case in point. “We have designed our steering gear with a plug-and-play philosophy,” says Marnix, referring to the electric-hydraulic driven systems which control the position of a ship’s rudder. “This means that we manufacture and install the equipment onto a skid in our own factory in Hardinxveld-Giessendam, the Netherlands. There it can be FAT tested, witnessed by a class surveyor as required, before it is placed on board the ship. All a client – in this case Royal Bodewes – has to do is to connect the hydraulic and electrical supply – this saves a lot of time and energy on board.”

It’s all well and good hearing DMC’s side of the story, but what does Royal Bodewes think of its collaboration with DMC? “We have had a good working relationship with Damen Marine Components for a long time,” answers Martijn Beunk, Royal Bodewes Business Development Manager. “We have worked with them on numerous projects and their excellent price-quality ratio is one of the reasons for that. Furthermore, the DMC team is always available for advice and consultation during our design and engineering process.”