Posidonia seals deals for Greek ship equipment companies
Greece’s maritime community upbeat despite economic woes
10/6/2010
Piraeus-based marine trading, project development and spare parts major INTRA MARE has announced two significant deals during this week’s Posidonia 2010, the 22nd edition of the world’s biggest international sea transportation event being held at the Hellenikon Exhibition Centre in Athens’ waterfront.
According to managing director George Gerassimou, INTRA MARE has just agreed terms with Danish marine equipment specialist Sondex to become the Scandinavian company’s agent for the Greek marine market. While specific details as to the precise nature of the agreement will be unveiled next week in a joint statement of the two partners, Gerassimou said that the deal includes the exclusive representation of Sondex’s state-of-the-art plate coolers and heaters.
INTRA MARE is a naval architecture technological & trading company with activities extending over a wide spectrum of services including representation, design, consultancy, and trading. The company represents exclusively a number of leading marine equipment manufacturers and at the same time, supports its extensive sales organization through its Project Development Division.
Gerassimou is upbeat about the state of Greece’s shipping industry despite the economic downturn. “While there is no denying that global shipping showed significant signs of fatigue between 2008-2009 with a decrease in new ship building orders which negatively impacted the whole maritime community, during the first half of this year we have seen a notable increase in our sales of up to 30 per cent compared to the same period of 2009,” he said.
“And judging by the overwhelming participation of exhibitors and visitors in this year’s Posidonia we project a quick recovery for the international marine equipment sector spearheaded by the introduction of the latest products and technologies showcased here,” he added.
Other Greek shipping industry officials participating at Posidonia 2010 are also cautiously optimistic about the future of the marine industry. Dimitris Vranopoulos, Managing Director, Marine Plus, an Athens-based agent of Asian and European shipyards, believes that while the downturn has slowed down newbuilding activity, shipyards in China and other key hubs are readjusting their operations to accommodate increased demand for the ship repair and conversion sector.
“We remain optimistic about the future and have had a number of meetings with potential clients who have openly said that they are planning orders in the near future. We will continue our discussions with them and hope that we will soon convert this initial interest into tangible business,” said Vranopoulos.
“Our core business always was and still is shiprepair and conversion. Most of our business is conducted in China, where we have been active since 1992. China accounts for around 80% of our annual shiprepair/conversion turnover, by far the largest portion. We are also active and exclusively represent shipyards in Hong Kong, the Black Sea, Med region, Thailand, Panama, Kuwait, US East coast and Europe.”
Posidonia official Theodore Vokos, believes that the event is a natural forum for companies to network and identify common grounds for partnerships and co operations. “Every two years many of our exhibitors announce significant business deals as a result of their participation in Posidonia. We are extremely proud to be able to offer a forum which is conducive to business and forges stronger ties between members of the global marine industry,” he said.
Posidonia 2010 is sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping, the Municipality of Piraeus, the Hellenic Chamber of Shipping, the Union of Greek Shipowners, the Greek Shipping Co-operation Committee, the Hellenic Shortsea Shipowners Association, the Association of Greek Passenger Shipping Companies and the Union of Marine Enterprises.
Source: Posidonia Events