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A.G. Weser Officials Credit Yard's Success To Series Orders The secret of success in the highly competitive shipbuilding industry is to set a long-range company policy with broad business oppor- tunities, and then stay with it. This is the policy followed by A.G. Wes- er of Bremen, West Germany's big- gest shipbuilding firm. In the case of A.G. Weser, the policy is to design new ships that meet the trade needs of many world shipowners and to concentrate on series construction, which permits the yard to operate efficiently and profitably. Two of A.G. Weser's top officials, Dr. Heinz Ache and Louis A. Ver- nede, explained the corporate phil- osophy on a recent visit to New York. A.G. Weser does not seek single-ship contracts that would merely meet the desire of one opera- tor to have, as an example, the largest vessel in the world. Instead, they reported in an interview with The Journal of Commerce in the office of their New York agent— "Weser" Shipyards Inc.—the com- pany strives for block orders of a vessel type that could become a standard ship for many owners. In this fashion, said Dr. Ache Our mentalworking metalworker. There's more to steel fabrication than meets the eye. It doesn't take much to burn a plate or weld a seam. But it takes brains and experience to plan a job right. That's where Jack Groover shines. He's foreman of our fabrica- tion shop. In his 30 years with us he's proved time and again that the right way costs less. Good planning eliminates the dumb mistakes that can drive costs up, customers away, and management crazy. Our metalwork is as good as any on this seaboard. Our mental work is even better. So next time you need repairs— whether a simple voyage repair or a major conversion—think about us. Then think about our thinking, and how much money that can save you. Then come see us. Savannah Machine and Shipyard Co. P.O. Box 787, Savannah, Ga. 31402 Tele. (912) 233-6621 5 World Trade Center, Room 6237 New York, N.Y. 10048, Tele. (212) 432-0350 and Mr. Vernede, savings in ma- terials, building time, and labor utilization can be realized with an ultimate benefit to both the ship- building company and the owners who contract for vessels with A.G. Weser. Such a policy has been in effect at the company for a number of years and the results in profits and activity are encouraging, said Dr. Ache, who carries the title of speaker of the board of managing directors, and Mr. Vernede, a mem- ber of the board in Bremen. ' They noted that the company is now completing the final units of the series building of an A.G. Weser- designed 255,000 - deadweight - ton tanker, and that yard preparations are under way for the start of con- struction of its new "Europa" tank- er design. The "Europa" is a 380,- 000-dwt oil carrier, which the A.G. Weser officials said is the standard for virtually all tankers in such sizes now being built. The 255,000-dwt series involved 13 orders, 10 of which have already been built, with one more slated for launching this month, they said. When the remaining two are com- pleted, the yard in Bremen—one of two yards that are part of the A.G. Weser complex — will swing over fully into production of the new giant 380,000 tonners. In line with the company concept of efficiency, Mr. Vernede stressed that the "Europa" construction pro- gram is being geared to fast assem- bly of large components of the new tanker, with concentration of the yard on this one design into 1977. As part of the "Europa" series, A.G. Weser is expanding the length of the slipway now being used to build the 255,000-dwt vessels to ac- commodate the much larger new tankers. The "Europa" design calls for vessels more than 1,200 feet in length, 210 feet in width, and with full cargo load draft of nearly 74 feet. Coinciding with the construction plans of the tanker, the shipyard intends to use a smaller slipway parallel to the main slip for the assembly of massive components for the "Europa" series. The smaller slip was most recently used for construction of three of the SL-7 containerships of Sea-Land Service, the last of which—the Sea Land Market—was launched in the mid- dle of May. Since that time, the smaller slip has 'been prepared for its role of building components for the big tanker that will be assembled along- side. Part of the preparation of the smaller slip is the construction of a 500-ton-lift gantry crane, and the introduction into the Bremen ship- yard of multi-wheel ground carriers that will be used to shift the com- ponents from one slip to the other, the A.G. Weser officials explained. Expansion of the existing slipway to handle the much larger tanker series and utilization of the adja- cent way to handle component as- 12 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
