Setting sail together: 25 years of cooperation
This year 16 of our technically managed vessels are planned for a yard period at Falkvarv, the shipyard located in Falkenberg Sweden. Since Falkvarv has been our trusted drydock and yard repair partner for over 25 years, we took the opportunity to interview both the previous CEO, Jan Olof Carlsson, and the current CEO, Stefan Tengvall.
Could you tell us a little more about Falkvarv?
Falkvarv AB was founded in 1987, but shipyard operations including new constructions and repairs have been present at the location since 1946. Today we current focus on repair, maintenance and conversion and constantly adapting to our customers’ demands and preferences. We continually strive to develop our business towards higher quality and shorter lay-up times and still have short and fast decision-making paths.
What message would you like to convey to potential customers and partners about your yard’s capabilities, values and commitment to excellence in the maritime industry?
Falkvarv has the capacity to drydock vessels up to 150 meters in length. We dry dock about 70 vessels per year and the majority of them are tankers and dry cargo vessels but special service crafts and tugboats are common. Our operation is characterized by high capacity and technical
competence. We aiming to have a small and efficient administrative organization that keeps decision-making paths short.
Wieslaw Jaworski, our Technical Superintendent (on the left) with a crew member from MF Shipping Group!
Can you tell us more about the long-standing relationship and cooperation between Falkvarv and MFSG?
The cooperation and relationship between MFSG and Falkvarv leads us back to October 1998, when the mv Nordanhav, owned by Erik Thun Group AB, was one of the first technically managed vessels by MF Shipping Group. She entered the drydock at Falkenberg under the supervision of the leading superintendent Rudi van het Oever.
Once more vessels came into the technical management, more of these vessels entered our shipyard. Jan Olof remembers that the 2nd time MFSG brought the ships to their yard, was in 2001 where he met Ivo Ramakers during a warranty drydock of the then named Bro Grace. The Grace, her sister vessels and their superintendents kept returning to our shipyard, for the Thun Grace even up to the last survey before she was handed over to her new owners. Now every year we see multiple vessels which are managed by MFSG entering our yard. Where we greet familiar and new faces both onboard and as Superintendents by ensuring these projects turn in to a joint success.
Are there any unique aspects of your
collaboration that set it apart from other
partnerships in the industry?
Falkvarv and MFSG know each other very well. The lines of contact are very short, everybody knows who to contact on certain topics, and there is a very cooperative understanding for both our workloads. Also the yard and their personnel has a low retention rate meaning that the yard workers who did the first drydocking’s of MFSG managed vessels are still involved in the current drydocking’s of these vessels. These good cooperation, where you could almost say we treat each other like colleagues is shown by the fact that MFSG and Thun have a fixed office in the Falkvarv main building, where the superintendents can have meetings and do their administration in quiet and Wi-Fi covered area.
"The cooperation and relationship between MFSG and Falkvarv leads us back to October 1998, when the mv Nordanhav, owned by Erik Thun Group AB, entered the drydock at Falkenberg"
It is worth mentioning that we always invite the MFSG superintendents to our after work meet-ups. In the past years we have seen them joining in on bowling nights, air rifle and barbeque evenings. Lately we even watched the launching of the new Thun Tanker vessel Thun Reliance, together with all crew from MFSG and Falkvarv here in our Canteen, guided by some lovely cakes. During these after work activities, the superintendents can relax a little after the intense and long working days they are facing, while they meet up with all yard personnel in a less official setting which only have resulted in a better work environment for all personnel involved.
Stefan Tengvall (on the left) & Joakim Vinter from Falkvarv AB
Are there any future projects or developments on the horizon for your
yard?
We are in the near future making an sustainability report and are aiming to be the obvious option when it comes to a ship owner to choosing a shipyard.
Since we are based close to the city center one of our challenge is to coexist with apartments that coming closer and closer to the yard. We focus on good cooperation with the city council and local authority and are relying on approval from them for any changes we want to do at the yard.
We currently trying to renew and expand our workshops and hoping to start the building work 2024/25. We also continuing increasing the capacity of inhouse 3D modeling, project managing, sales and quotation to be able to assist our clients in the best kind of way.
