VIKING’s TURKISH SUBSIDIARY RIDES WAVE OF SUCCESS
A combination of the right products, a strong range of servicing offerings and business-savvy people on the ground have secured a strong market position for one of VIKING’s newest subsidiaries, VIKING Istanbul, during its first official year of operation.
Esbjerg, Denmark, May 29, 2010 – VIKING Life Saving Equipment Istanbul Denizcilik Tic AS, the Turkish subsidiary of the leading marine and fire safety equipment manufacturer, has every reason to be proud of its results over the past year. Already very successful, VIKING Istanbul, as it is known in everyday dealings, has achieved unprecedented success in convincing Turkish shipowners to go the VIKING way.
Although officially launched in 2009, VIKING Istanbul has been performing a variety of operations since May 2008, helping to safeguard the lives of Istanbul and Canakkale citizens in both ferryboats and sea buses. VIKING Istanbul also participates in tenders for the Turkish navy, land and air forces as well as municipalities. Such tenders call for pyrotechnics, liferafts, life-saving equipment, food rationing and water packs for liferafts and lifeboats, inflatable bullet-proof lifejackets, pilot suits and the like.
While normal servicing tasks are a mainstay of VIKING’s business, Mr Yasin Kasa, manager of the Istanbul-based company, explains that the predictable costs and unique flexibility built into VIKING’s new Shipowner Agreements have also been a key contributor to the success.
“A lot of the shipowners we talk to are extremely interested in fixed price agreements that enable them to more accurately plan and budget for safety equipment investments and servicing. And they love the idea of a single point of contact for all their servicing needs as well as local invoicing and local payment.” Mr Kasa also went on to add that maintaining ownership of their liferafts was important to Turkish shipowners.
“Turkey is a major player in global shipping. So the name VIKING is well-known to shipowners here and they see great value in being able to replace their existing liferafts with genuine VIKING products,” says Mr Kasa. “The advantages of our VIKING Shipowner Agreement make this higher level of safety both possible and affordable. And they also get the benefit of a highly reliable service notification system.”
With over 680 ships of 1000 gross tonnes or more, Turkey is on record as being the 16th largest ship-owning country in the world. A large number of these vessels have already signed up with VIKING Istanbul, carrying hundreds of liferafts under individual servicing contracts. In many cases, these involved replacements for existing rafts.
VIKING Istanbul is strategically located at Tuzla to handle the ports of Ambarli, Karaköy and Izmit Bay, as well as shipyards in the Tuzla, Yalova and Izmit areas. Future plans call for the subsidiary to take on responsibility for the further development of markets in Bulgaria, Romania, Syria, Libya and Lebanon – a clear indication of VIKING’s strong commitment to the region.
Highlights of the VIKING Istanbul success also include the signing of landmark contracts with Geden Lines and Dunya Denizcilik.
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