VEEM have confirmed the recent sale of a VG145SD Gyro model to be retrofitted on a 34m Motor Yacht in San Diego in the USA.

The VEEM Gyro 145SD is 20% more powerful in stabilizing effect than the VG120SD, but is contained within exactly the same envelope size and weight making the stabilizing torque density of this product a real game changer for motor yachts around 30m (100’) in length. As a single unit installation, it is suitable for vessels with displacement between 60 – 145 tonnes. Multiple units can be installed for larger vessels.

Learn More about the VG145SD

This latest sale in the USA adds to the previously reported sale for a large sport fishing boat project currently in build at Jim Smith Tournament Boats in Stuart, Florida and a VG120 unit sale for an 80′ Sportfish boat in Dubai.

VEEM Ltd has continued to push the boundaries of manufacturing and technology innovation for the last 50 years, and what better way to celebrate their 50th anniversary than being welcomed into the Financial Review’s Most Innovative Companies list for 2018. 

Published annually by The Australian Financial Review, the prestigious list is based on a rigorous assessment process managed by Australia’s leading innovation consultancy, Inventium, in conjunction with a panel of industry expert judges. The full Top 100 list can be viewed here.

VEEM was nominated for the world-leading series of Gyro Stabilizers, which can be viewed here, and ranked 49th on the list, from over 1,000 nominated organisations across Australia and New Zealand.

The assessment measures a top innovation implemented in the past twelve months. Specifically, the judges look at how valuable the problem is that the innovation is solving, the quality and uniqueness of the solution, and the level of impact that the innovation has had.

The technology and innovation behind the VEEM Ltd series of Gyrostabilizers is world-leading. A marine gyro stabilizer is a device for reducing the rolling of boats and ships in waves. This reduces and eliminates the effects of sea sicknesses, and allows vessels to work safely when required, such as superyachts, sea rescue, crew transfer boats and large naval and offshore vessels.

Discover the VEEM Gyro range here. 

GLOBAL SHIPBUILDING GIANT DAMEN SHIPYARDS GROUP CONFIRMS SUCCESSFUL SEA TRIALS OF VEEM GYROSTABILIZERS

• Game-changing recognition for VEEM’s world leading Gyrostabilizers
• Damen is Europe’s 2^ndlargest shipbuilder with more than 200 new vessels annually
• Ampelmann is the market leader in motion compensated gangway systems
• Negotiations underway to confirm initial orders for the largest VEEM VG1000SD Gyrostabilizers for Damen’s new Fast Crew Supplier 7011

 VEEM Ltd (ASX: VEE), Australian-based manufacturer of propellers, fin systems, gyrostabilizers and specialist components for the super yacht, aerospace, oil and gas and defence industries, is pleased to advise thatDamen Shipyards Group, one of the world’s largest shipbuilders, has announced the successful results of sea trails utilising VEEM Gyrostabilizers on board a Damen Fast Crew Supplier vessel.

Over two days in June, Damen and Ampelmann hosted international delegates from the offshore renewable and non-renewable industries on board a Damen Fast Crew Supplier 5009 fitted with two VEEM VG260SD Gyrostabilizers and equipped with the latest Ampelmann L-type motion compensating gangway.

VEEM Chairman Brad Miocevich, who attended the trials off IJmuiden Port in the Netherlands, said the performance of the VG 260SDs exceeded Damen’s expectations.

“It was impressive to see the new Damen, Ampelmann, VEEM combination working so seamlessly,”      Mr Miocevich said.

“We are very excited to receive Damen’s confirmation that they would now like to proceed to the purchase phase and confirm commercial requirements and delivery dates for us to supply VEEM’s largest gyrostabilizer, the VG1000SD, for the new Damen FCS 7011.”

Damen Business Development Manager David Stibbe said “Damen’s new 70-metre FCS 7011 fitted with the VEEM VG1000SD Gyrostabilizer would achieve roll reduction of up to 75% in 2.5m waves”.

One of the advantages of VEEM gyrostabilizers, is that the amount of roll reduction can be specified for each individual application. Testing of the VEEM VG260SD Gyrostabilizers on the FCS5009 proved to be a great success with a roll reduction of 35-40%, which had been specified.

“One of the many interesting features of the sea trials was demonstrating the gyrostabilizers being switched on and off at the push of a button. This enabled those witnessing the sea trial to appreciate the immediate positive effect VEEM Gyrostabilizers have on the vessel’s roll motion.” said David Stibbe

Ampelmann Crew Change Market Manager Wiebe Jan Emsbroek said the combination of VEEM Gyrostabilizers and the latest Ampelmann motion compensating gangway system on a Damen Fast Crew Supplier marks a step change for marine access solutions.

“The vision of Ampelmann is to make offshore access as easy as crossing the street,” Mr Emsbroek said. “These sea trials clearly show the need to have partners to deliver a single solution for safe and efficientpersonnel transfer.”

VEEM Managing Director Mark Miocevich said, “The anticipated orders are an exciting milestone on the Company’s path to widespread global acceptance of VEEM Gyrostabilizers as an essential component of ship design.”

“To have a shipbuilder of the calibre of Damen place orders for VEEM gyros heralds a new phase in our growth.”

Mr Miocevich said “Gyrostablizers will become commonplace on new vessels in the marine industry once the advantages of the technology become widely known. Another great thing about VEEM gyros is they can be retro fitted easily into older vessels with minimal engineering.”

For video of the Damen sea trial visit https://vimeo.com/276695001/0fb4bf8a53

To read the Damen announcement visit https://www.damen.com/en/press-and-media

About VEEM

VEEM Ltd (ASX:VEE) is a market leading manufacturer of stabilizers for super yachts, offshore work vessels and patrol boats. VEEM Gyro stabilizers reduce the rolling motion of vessels in waves, increasing on-sea time and improving personnel safety in a wide range of ocean conditions. VEEM is also a successful producer of propellers, fin systems and specialised components for the aerospace, oil and gas, and defence industries. Proudly headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, VEEM operates from a 10,500sqm purpose-built fabrication and manufacturing facility, including Australia’s largest non-ferrous foundry. We employ 180 staff in Australia, including graduates and apprentices, and maintain a highly skilled research and development team in-house. Celebrating our 50th anniversary in business in 2018, VEEM was listed on the Australian stock exchange in 2016.

www.veem.com.au

Damen Shipyards Group

Damen Shipyards Group operates 34shipbuilding and repair yards, employing 10,000 people worldwide. Damen has delivered more than 6,000 vessels in more than 100 countries and delivers some 160 vessels annually to customers worldwide. Based on its unique, standardised ship-design concept Damen is able to guarantee consistent quality.

Damen’s focus on standardisation, modular construction and keeping vessels in stock leads to short delivery times, low ‘total cost of ownership’, high resale values and reliable performance. Furthermore, Damen vessels are based on thorough R&D and proven technology.

Damen offers a wide range of products, including tugs, workboats, naval and patrol vessels, high speed craft, cargo vessels, dredgers, vessels for the offshore industry, ferries, pontoons and superyachts.

For nearly all vessel types Damen offers a broad range of services, including maintenance, spare parts delivery, training and the transfer of (shipbuilding) know-how. Damen also offers a variety of marine components, such as nozzles, rudders, winches, anchors, anchor chains and steel works.

Damen Shiprepair & Conversion (DSC) has a worldwide network of eighteen repair and conversion yards of which twelve are located in North West Europe. Facilities at the yards include more than 50 floating and (covered) drydocks, the largest of which is 420 x 90 metres, as well as slopes, ship lifts and indoor halls. Projects range from the smallest simple repairs through Class’ maintenance to complex refits and the complete conversion of large offshore structures. DSC completes around 1,300 repair and maintenance jobs annually, both at yards as well as in ports and during voyage.

www.damen.com

About Ampelmann

Ampelmann is the industry leader in providing safe Walk to Work services and solutions for the global offshore energy industries. Headquartered in the Netherlands, the company currently operates a fleet of more than 60 operational systems in Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, the Americas and the Middle East. Its innovative and reliable transfer and cargo solutions are designed and tailored to meet the needs of the ever changing offshore industry. Founded in 2007, the company has a proven track record of more than four million safe people transfers, more than eight million kg cargo transfers and 250 projects worldwide. www.ampelmann.nl

The world’s highest earners may not know it, but when they spend over $5,000 an hour for the privilege of using Sydney Harbour-based super yacht Tango they can thank local advanced manufacturer VEEM Ltd. for their smooth ride.

Tango, which has hosted such names as Richard Branson, celebrities Katy Perry, Brad Pitt and Justin Bieber, as well as the King of Norway, the CEO of Chanel and the manager of Manchester United, Jose Mourinho, is among the first clients to receive one of ASX-listed VEEM’s game changing gyrostabilisers, designed for the large boat market.

These patented stabilisers significantly reduce “roll” during sail, increasing safety, reducing seasickness and generally making the journey much smoother and more pleasant.

“The super yachts, the workboats, ferries, patrol boats – from 100 tons to 3,000 tons — that market is massive and upwards of a $1billion-a-year market for us,” Managing Director Mark Miocevich says.

“Our first sales have been in the super yacht area. They are early adopters and having a new technology that performs better is something that they are very likely to move toward.”

VEEM, founded in 1968, has already had long success revolutionising the manufacture of propellers with the use of advanced manufacturing techniques to make them faster, smoother, quieter and easier to maintain and replace.  The firm earns around half its turnover from exports, and also boasts significant defence work, with the Australian Submarine Corporation awarding VEEM the first of a new generation of partnering contracts for the Collins Class Submarine in 2014.

VEEM manufactures its sophisticated castings in Australia to best manage the complexity.

The firm, which listed on the ASX in October, uses patented, robotic processes to make casting moulds, enabling VEEM to manufacture any shape of propeller simply by selecting the program and eliminating the need for traditional wood patterns for propeller castings — a major cost saving and innovation.

“We have the most advanced propeller manufacturing facilities in the world. It is absolute state-of-the-art,” Mr Miocevich says, adding that VEEM also fully machines every millimetre of the propeller surface using computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines.

“We have a factory full of them and they run 24 hours a day, lights off. So they are automatically run by a laser-operated robot forklift, which loads and unloads the machines by itself,” Mr Miocevich explains.

Being located in in Canning Vale, around 20 kilometres from Perth, is a benefit rather than a hindrance, he says, maintaining a lot of IP protection simply by being remote.

“Remoteness to market is actually quite valuable. Being based in Perth, Western Australia, being so far from anywhere, we tend to not have the cross-pollination of techniques to other companies. For example, in England there are three propeller manufacturers and their employees move from company to company, so any new technique they develop is lost very quickly.”

Modern transport also means long distances are not a huge percentage of the cost of the product in the way they used to be.

“This model of using high-technology, good IP protection, creating global market niche products is what Australia needs to look for to be successful in manufacturing. Australian manufacturing has to come back in a different form to what it was before and we believe the model that we have got represents that new thinking,” Mr Miocevich says. “I am optimistic if you have the right model.”

“That is where the cleverness is and that IP needs to be protected. So the critical components we manufacture and assemble here and then export from here. That seems to be the model that most people are using globally nowadays.”

The newly-released gyrostabilisers have been sold to vessel owners in New Zealand, the US, and The Netherlands, and there is interest from defence contractors to improve the operational performance of a patrol boat for activities such as launch and recovery of vessels, accuracy of weapons and safety and comfort of crew.

There is also potential around high-speed crew transfer vessels which may replace helicopters in ferrying crew from oil platforms to oil rigs.

“We are seeing interest from a number of sectors and the ramifications are very large. You still have the old ‘pitch and heave,’ so front and back you get movement, and up and down with the swell, but none of this rapid side-to-side roll that boats experience,” says Mr Miocevich.

“If the vessel is rolling significantly it is very unstable for human beings to walk around, and as you are loading it swings violently. We can also significantly reduce seasickness so that when people are working they are more efficient and more productive.”

VEEM looked around the world and developed a global supply chain very similar to some of the major players in the marine sector, such as Rolls-Royce Marine, modelling itself on the best and brightest in the industry.

Mr Miocevich says Australians are natural innovators who punch above their weight in the list of global inventions – everything from the electric drill to the black box recorder to Cochlear – perhaps because of our historical isolation.

“Getting things from overseas was difficult and time-consuming, so we’ve always had the philosophy [in Australia] that if we were repairing something and we couldn’t buy the part, we’d just make it. Many, many great Australian companies are exactly like that,” Mr Miocevich says

Mr Miocevich also says the government’s defence initiative was a “masterstroke” for local manufacturing, because unlike the auto industry many of the contractors are Australian-owned companies.

“What we are doing now is developing a whole raft of SMEs and larger companies that are Australian companies – and that is developing a wide range of skills and businesses in this country which I think provides a much stronger future, and you can export a lot more because of it,” he says.

Article from Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council – http://aamc.org.au/portfolio-items/giving-super-yachts-smooth-ride/