2019-05-15

High technology forum

The Polish Maritime Technology Forum is a new organization associating companies related to the shipbuilding industry. The Forum, which has been in operation since the end of March this year, currently unites 19 entities.

As President of PMTF Jerzy Czuczman stresses, the challenges of the 21st century make the approach to maritime and shipbuilding industries require a new, much broader perspective. The traditional one results from the specificity of the sector and assumes division into 3 areas: shipyards building new ships and vessels, shipyards repairing and converting ships and vessels, and cooperation facilities companies. This traditional division, however, does not stand the test of time anymore.

A key factor in the need for change is the constant development of technologies, opening up new and expanding opportunities to exploit water, marine and ocean resources. The development of technology is the main activator of changes in economic relations between entities active in the maritime economy. It seems that a good response to the challenges of the future is the wide cooperation of many entities supplementing each other and possessing vast expertise and skills unavailable to companies or institutions operating individually, even when they belong to large industrial groups. It is necessary for ideas, skills and tasks to overlap. Moreover, the progressing process of technology development will also determine in the future the possibilities of responding to market and market-related needs. Hence the motto of the PMTF is 3P: power, promotion, progress, understood as building the strength of the organization, participation in fairs and conferences important for the industry and cooperation with other organizations.

- Undertaking the challenges posed by the 21st century, let us look for common platforms for the exchange of views, mutual understanding and cooperation, generating synergistic effects – concludes J. Czuczman.

According to data for 2018 provided by PMTF, the Polish shipyards delivered 6 new vessels with a gross tonnage of 11,400 t; the efficiency result was 27,400 CGT, of which, in the case of the latter indicator, PMTF accounted for 8,073, Remontowa Holding - 8,028, and companies associated with the State Treasury - 11,303. As far as the market value of sales of the produced units is concerned, in the case of the companies associated in the Forum it is EUR 48.5 million, Remontowa Holding EUR 23.6 million, and the State Treasury companies EUR 38.7 million. According to the euro/CGT index, this gives us the sales value of projects carried out by the PMTF companies at the level of EUR 6,000, i.e. the value of high-tech units such as cruise ships, while the European average is EUR 4,200. In the case of Remontowa Holding it is EUR 2,940, and in the case of companies owned by the State Treasury it is EUR 3,424. In general, the average value of the effectiveness of Polish shipbuilding according to the euro/CGT index is about EUR 4,000, and is still lower than the European average. However, this is much higher than it was 10 years ago, when it was EUR 1,500. This is the result of the transition from the production of simple ships, e.g. bulk carriers, to the construction of specialized vessels using high technology.

Picture: Jerzy Czuczman, President of the Polish Maritime Technology Forum, phot. ARG/P. Kozłowski

Article developed with 'Namiary na Morze i Handel' magazine