Scana Volda

Managing director: Kristian Sætre
Employees: 151
Turnover: NOK 472 million

From being a supplier of propulsion systems to shipyards and ship owners in Norway, the company has developed into a reputable international player. Within the company’s two business areas, service and new sales, 90 per cent of the new sales are to export markets.

Volda Mekaniske Verksted was founded in 1913 in Volda, Norway, and was taken over by the Scana group in 1998. As a result, the company changed its name to Scana Volda. Volda Mekaniske Verksted started as an engine factory and later developed to include shipbuilding and the production of propellers and gears. At the end of the 1980s, the last hull was delivered and the shipyard was closed down in 1997. Since 1996, gears and propulsion systems have been the most important products.

Scana Volda has been a Consortial Partner to Caterpillar (MaK) since 1996. Together with Caterpillar and Scana Mar-El, Scana Volda contributes to a complete propulsion system for ships, consisting of engines, gears, propellers and remote control systems.

Market and customers

Scana Volda has agents, offices and strategic partners in Iceland, the Netherlands, Spain, Singapore, India, China, Korea, the USA, Brazil and Chile. Scana propulsion systems are included in various ship designs, and marketed worldwide. Product and concept development is often done in collaboration with designers, where Scana Volda acts as a consultant.

2008 turned out to be an extraordinary year for  the shipping industry in more ways than one, with restricted numbers of newbuilds and a series of cancellations worldwide. Scana Volda has not been unaffected by this situation. However, due to a large amount of projects for the offshore segment, the company avoided the major share of cancellations within the bulk and cargo segment.

The company expects high activity and adequate profits also in 2009. An increased share of service and repairs will mitigate some of the fall that is expected in newbuilds up to 2010.

Products

Scana Volda develops, designs, constructs and sells gear and propeller equipment for all types of ships, up to sizes of approximately 20,000 kW engine output. In recent years, Scana Volda has produced and assembled the smallest gear sizes in the Czech Republic. This has given the company the needed production capacity and competitive edge as one of the leading suppliers of gear- and cp-propeller systems. As part of a complete propulsion system, the gear and propeller equipment is supplied together with the remote control system to Scana Mar-El.

The sale and marketing of services is focused primarily on the company’s own products in the form of commissioning, maintenance, replacement and overhaul, as well as a concentration on the sale of special services such as alignment, measurement and inspection.

In 2008 Scana Marine Service was established – an extended service organisation with focus on worldwide sales of services and after-sales support. This has contributed to an increased turnover in 2008.