Rolls-Royce expands in Germany with new Marine facility in Hamburg

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has today opened a new Marine Service Centre in the Port of Hamburg, Germany.

The investment marks the latest stage in the development of a global marine service network.

This year, with Hamburg, four new or expanded Marine Service Centres have been opened in major world ports. The Group now has dedicated marine sales and overhaul facilities in 35 countries, providing round-the-clock support to customers worldwide.

This new facility further increases the Rolls-Royce footprint in Germany, a strategic market, where the Group already employs around 3,200 people at two aerospace production facilities and a state-of-the-art mechanical testing facility. A joint venture with Daimler, to acquire the German diesel engines group Tognum, will also create further growth opportunities and broaden the product portfolio.

Dr. Michael Haidinger, President, Rolls-Royce Deutschland said: "The new Rolls-Royce Marine Service Centre in Hamburg represents an important extension of our activities in the Marine business and also increases our overall presence in Germany, which is a strategically important market for us.”

Martin Hall, Rolls-Royce, Senior Vice President Europe – Services Marine, said: “Rolls-Royce has been investing to expand its global marine service network for several years. This latest world-class facility, in Hamburg, gives us a significant presence in one of Europe’s main centres for ship repairs, and one of the largest commercial ports in the region.”

Dr. Bernd Egert, Privy Council of the Public Authority of Economics, Transport and Innovation, said: “A year ago this site was still an empty field. Now, Rolls-Royce has crossed the river Elbe and established its new home here in the Hamburg port. This is a very positive sign, and we hope that many businesses will follow that example and locate their operations in the port area. On top of that, the investment shows that businesses have confidence in the future and in Hamburg as a business location.”

“Having such a well equipped workshop close to our customers, means we can help to maximise ship availability through a combination of highly skilled service engineers, world-class maintenance facilities and long-term service contracts.”

The new facility will serve a variety of customers from the commercial and offshore sectors, and will also provide services for naval customers. Employing up to 70 people, it will handle the repair and overhaul of a wide range of Rolls-Royce thrusters and propellers, steering gear and winches. Skilled engineers will also carry out servicing and repairs on board vessels throughout the region.

The facility will be a centre of excellence for the design and manufacture of tank-based stabilising and anti-heeling systems, which automatically control water movement between tanks on either side of a ship to give balance and counteract roll in rough seas. The innovative systems keep a ship stable and upright, improving safety at sea and during loading operations.

Earlier this year, Rolls-Royce opened new Marine Service Centres in Gdynia (Poland), Walvis Bay (Namibia) and doubled the size of its Rotterdam facility in the Netherlands.

1. Rolls-Royce is a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, and has established a strong position in global markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy.
2. As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce has a broad customer base comprising more than 500 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 4,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in nearly 120 countries, with an installed base of 54,000 gas turbines.
3. Annual underlying revenues were £10.8 billion in 2010, of which more than half came from the provision of services. The firm and announced order book stood at £61.4 billion at 30 June 2011, providing visibility of future levels of activity.
4. Rolls-Royce employs over 39,000 skilled people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in over 50 countries. Over 11,000 of these employees are engineers.
5. In 2010, Rolls-Royce invested £923 million on research and development, two thirds of which had the objective of further improving the environmental performance of its products, in particular reducing emissions.
6. Rolls-Royce supports a global network of 28 University Technology Centres, which connect the company’s engineers with the forefront of scientific research.
7. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills.
8. A joint venture with Daimler to acquire the German diesel engines group Tognum, announced earlier this year, will create further opportunities for profitable growth and add significantly to the breadth and balance of our Marine and Energy product portfolios.