Company insight
Experience makes a difference
For shipyards and their suppliers, the pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges, but a spirit of collaboration has kept supply chains and construction projects running. Guglielmo Rutigliano of lighting and electrification solutions provider Ensto Marine explains how the company has navigated a successful route through a difficult year.
little more than a year ago, shipyards and their suppliers came to an abrupt standstill. As the virus spread and cruise operators looked to the future with uncertainty, questions hung over the construction of new vessels and the many refit projects that were in progress. Despite the downturn in cruise bookings, however, shipyards and their partners pressed ahead with major projects and the supply chain started moving again, albeit with many changes in operating procedures. Large-scale construction projects and the manufacturing of vital components cannot be done remotely, so the challenge was to adapt and survive. Some managed to do more than that and actually thrived in adversity. “We have been 100% operational and functional even during tough times,” says Guglielmo Rutigliano, sales director at Ensto Marine. “Shipyards are our customers and, once they reopened, we were able to support them. Now, new builds are coming back to normal, and even during 2020 we managed to close deals and get new orders from France, Italy and Finland.”
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For Finnish technology company Ensto Group, the marine sector is a crucial market, to which it is a full-service provider of electrical and lighting solutions. To maintain its productivity, the company had to make a number of changes to its working practices.
“Our administrative staff were working from home, though some colleagues were in the office, but the production team had to be 100% on site,” says Rutigliano. “That meant taking the standard Covid precautions – masks, gloves, distancing and sanitisation – but we also had to reorganise the logistics in our production processes.”
Collaboration and communication The changes that Ensto put in place enabled it to quickly ramp up production,
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Ensto used its experience and close ties with clients to ensure business continued throughout the pandemic.
but the real key to its performance during the pandemic has been its close working relationship with not only its clients, but also all of the other stakeholders in major construction projects. “We specialise in customisation,” Rutigliano explains. “Before we start on any project, we have long discussions with the shipowners, the designers, the architects and the shipyard – everyone who is involved in the project. We have to understand what kind of fitting they want and then match that with the technical specifications that are required on board. There is a lot of personalisation and all of the products we supply are fully customised.”
That level of customisation extends to everything Ensto provides, from cabin lights and hotel downlights to waterproof lighting systems and strip LED solutions. Whether it is decorative fittings or safety lighting, the company applies the same methodology and rigour to design and fabrication.
“From the design to the installation, we provide a 360º service,” remarks Rutigliano.
“That is why we have in-depth discussions with everyone involved. We need to balance the owner’s vision with what is cost effective and technically possible. It is only by talking about the aesthetics and the cost that you can find the right solution.”
It is Ensto’s long history in the cruise sector that enables it to shape those discussions to achieve the right balance of cost, energy efficiency and technical feasibility. No matter how much pressure the pandemic puts on working practices and supply chains, it cannot undermine the value of decades of experience. “Companies in the marine business know us for our flexibility, project management skills and ability to find good solutions that meet the needs of shipyards and shipowners,” says Rutigliano. “From design through to installation to commissioning, we can manage everything to do with lighting and electrification. That is what has kept us and our clients going through a challenging year.” ●
www.ensto.com World Cruise Industry Review /
www.worldcruiseindustryreview.com
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