Subscribe to the newsletter
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the takeover of KNUD E. HANSEN by Damen. But for many people it is a great unknown, despite the fact that the company has an impressive track record, with projects such as the refit of oceanliner ss ‘France’ to cruise ship ‘Norway’, the ‘Stena Scandinavica’, the Iraqi presidential yacht ‘Al Mansur’ and, of course, the Australian icebreaker and supply vessel ‘Nuyina’. Hence, it is a good moment to get to know our colleagues from the originally Danish design agency.
As the company’s name suggests, there was once a Knud E. Hansen. At the age of 37, this naval architect took a big gamble. He quit his job in the drawing office of the Helsingør Jernskibs or Maskinbyggeri shipyard and started his own ship design consultancy. That was on 1 November 1937.
Managing Director Finn Wollesen Petersen.
85 years on, more than 800 ships have been built to designs of KNUD E. HANSEN, and more than 400 refits carried out. With around 100 employees, it operates from seven locations in Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Spain, Australia, the US and the UK. “A lot of times you see design agencies opening offices in low-wage countries,” managing director Finn Wollesen Petersen explains. “We adhere to a somewhat different philosophy and mainly follow our customers. We like to be near them.”
One-offs
The idea of this different philosophy also comes to the fore when comparing the Damen group with ‘KEH’. Finn: “At Damen, it’s all about standardisation and series construction. Whereas we focus primarily on one-offs or small series, designed specifically for a customer and application. But in itself, this is no problem at all. Not all ships lend themselves to series construction and standardisation. In such cases, we can be useful. We could provide Damen with a very good entry into those markets. In terms of tailor-made designs, I think it’s fair to say that we are near the top, globally.”
Zooming in a little further on KNUD E. HANSEN’s expertise, it is striking that they mainly design large ships. “In terms of ropax and cruise ships, we operate in the top five. In offshore wind installation vessels, we form the top two together with GustoMSC, and in ultra large RoRo’s, we are the global market leader. Especially for the shipyards in Mangalia and Galati, these are very interesting projects, and nowadays you are seeing that some customers are even willing to pay a premium to have their ships built in Europe.”
Australian icebreaker and Research and Supply Vessel Nuyina in a drawing by KNUD E. HANSEN.
HVAC
Besides vessels for fishing and aquaculture designed mainly at the Faroese site, another expertise is that of marine HVAC systems: heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Systems for some 10 to 20 ships are delivered each year; mostly for ferries and cruise ships. This work is mainly carried out at the Cadíz office in Spain. Finn: “We could really add value for Damen in this area. If only to keep the current regular HVAC suppliers on their toes.”
“Overall, I think we could achieve greater benefits from one another if we seek cooperation more actively. KNUD E. HANSEN has a very strong name when it comes to ship design; Damen is one of the leading shipbuilders. This should certainly be able to achieve synergy and added value. Not only in the area of designing and building for clients, but also, for example, in the exchange and training of young engineers, as we have done in the past with MDEM and MEGA. Together, we will be able to make great strides.”