Company Report: Deltamarin Group
The Kings of diversity in marine engineering The Finland-based Deltamarin Group undertakes a wealth of services in the marine industry, specialising in all disciplines and phases of the engineering process. Exec Digital talks to MD Mika Laurilehto

FPSO “Aoka Mizu”; conversion basic engineering package for B

Deltamarin main office in Raisio, Finland

To cover the breadth of an entire industry in the manner of Deltamarin is no small feat, particularly when that industry has the different intricacies and nuances of the marine arena. The company specialises in consulting, design and engineering from specific small tasks to complete engineering packages. Operating worldwide and spanning the entire field of engineering from feasibility studies though to production engineering, the list includes project concept development, contracting and project management, procurement handling and operation support. It results in an extraordinary portfolio of work and raises the question: How does the company take on so much?

The answer, as always, is in the human resources. Managing Director Mika Laurilehto reveals: “We have 250 people in Finland in the Deltamarin Group and then within the entire international group we have almost the same amount, so we are close to 470 altogether in the joint venture companies in which we are participating outside Finland.” Laurilehto describes the venture as a “Predominantly European” company by nature but the firm established a joint venture office in China three years ago which started with 20 people and now has 90 – and is still growing. Kuala Lumpur is also the host of an office and growth is expected there too.

Not bad for these times. While the global situation, Laurilehto admits, is having an effect, expansion still continues.

A GOOD YEAR
Still, nothing can top 2007 for good years. As Laurilehto says: “2007 was a record year which we will never see again in terms of both ordering of new ships and deliveries. In 2008 we declined in turnover a little from the previous year.”

And previously, there were actually two companies, as he explains. Deltamarin concentrated on the engineering field but there was a separate entity in Deltamarin Contracting. “At one point there was some market pull for having a company which would provide material deliveries and also assembly, labour, installation and that’s why Deltamarin Contracting was separated from Deltamarin, but that never really took off and we were doing similar work in both of the companies,” says Laurilehto. “So in Europe we were able to reduce costs in administration; we have now combined the two companies, but actually we have worked as one company for quite some time already doing similar work but now the structure is clearer.”

Training is a key focus at Deltamarin. The company has both managerial programmes and project management training, the latter of which is viewed by Laurilehto as the more important. “Most of our business of course is in different types of projects so project management and project execution skills are important and then in addition we also provide professional training for the engineers,” he says. And that’s not only their own but they also train, for example, design engineers at shipyards.

In addition, the company also trains crews of ship owners and operators. Laurilehto explains: “Clients have said, ‘Ok, you have designed the system so why can’t you train our people to operate them?’ So it was a natural development to do so.”

AN INNOVATOR
Deltmarin considers itself an innovator, both in the products it delivers and through internal processes. It has been utilising 3D engineering systems and tools since the beginning and has been developing these together with software platform suppliers. “What we are always looking at is where we can increase the benefits for the customer,” says Laurilehto.

“What is the value we can add in their products?” Also, the company is independent, without ties to anything except its own clients. This leads to looking at things from a client’s perspective so those clients can perform better. “It’s all related to innovation and knowledge,” he says.

And that innovation and knowledge requires some managing in itself for a firm concentrating its efforts on so wide a range of activities. Indeed, it’s worth remembering that this is a company covering the whole marine industry – all disciplines and all phases. So what is next for the company? “I would say the coming year or two will be sustaining what we have established so far and then the growth which will continue most likely after a couple of years,” says Laurilehto.

“There are still areas where we have potential for growth; things like energy saving, environmental issues… those are the issues we have been working on for years with many of the ship owners and that is something very interesting for the owners,” he adds. “Even though they are not ordering new ships, they may want to upgrade the old ones and one of the hot topics of course is how to consume less energy and fuel. If you are consuming less then you emit less as well.”

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