Vestdavit, the davit manufacturer, has set a new sales record, mainly thanks to many orders from the offshore sector. The marine business is also doing well, and the Norwegians are expanding.
Vestdavit reported a 76% jump in incoming orders for the past year. This was primarily due to the high demand from the offshore wind power and oil and gas sectors, as well as the “core market” of marine.
Offshore wind now accounts for 30% of total sales. “Around 80% of all offshore wind turbine operators use our davits,” says Tarjei Isaksen, Vestdavit’s Director of Sales and Business Development. One reason he gives is that, contrary to the market trend towards standardisation, the company focuses on tailor-made solutions, “which gives us an advantage in niche segments.” There is a “much higher” number of orders for prototype projects.
With the rapid expansion of the global offshore wind industry, the number of orders for construction and maintenance vessels, which are used for the installation and maintenance of wind turbines and for which workboat davits are regularly required as they are in daily use, is also increasing.
However, Vestdavit also reported an increase in deliveries to the oil and gas industry, which accounted for 15% of orders last year. The davits are mainly used on auxiliary vessels for field development and on cable-laying vessels.
Marine is very important for Vestdavit
The largest market for the manufacturer remains the global marine business, which currently accounts for around 50% of sales. The main customers are the USA and countries in the NATO alliance. Last year also saw the first orders from Canada and Colombia.
In view of increasing geopolitical tensions, more and more governments around the world are investing in their navies. Vestdavit is also benefiting from this. “One of the sales highlights” for the company last year was the receipt of the largest single order to date, worth NOK 62 million, from an undisclosed NATO naval customer for several davits to be installed on three new ships.
Vestdavit expands
In view of the significant increase in orders, Vestdavit has initiated a company expansion with the recruitment of additional personnel in the areas of sales, project management and technology. At the head office in Bergen alone, the workforce has been increased by 25%. The company is also expanding the capacity of its production facility in Poland to meet the increasing demand for davits.
Sales so far this year are said to already exceed the order backlog for the whole of 2021, with offshore wind accounting for around 25%, and Isaksen is confident that the solid growth will continue in 2024: “We are on track for another strong year based on market trends of higher marine activity as well as accelerated development of offshore wind and other energy projects.”
