2. About this album
This album shows photos made during
my interim management assignment in
DAMEN Shipyard Galati from mid
February 2008 up to the end of
December 2009.
I thank my colleagues in the yard for the
splendid cooperation we had during the
implementation of the Yard Improvement
Plan and the enormous task to
reschedule the yard for different kind of
vessels and a smaller dedicated
workforce.
Kees de Ruiter
3. DAMEN Shipyards Galati
Some highlights in the development of the shipyard
1893 Establishment of the G. Fernic and Associates factory (steel works and bronze casting)
1897 Repair of approximately 20-24 ships/year, 300 workers.
1912 First newbuilding, a ferry of 80-100 tons.
1927 Galati Shipyard is one of the biggest factories in Romania. Workers increased from
500 in 1919 to 1,000 in 1927.
1937 The shipyard became “Santierul Naval Galati” or “Galati Shipyard”.
1990 The shipyard employed 9,400 people in a communistic style of workers’ industry.
1999 DAMEN Shipyards Group took over Galati Shipyard and established the capacity to 3,200
workers.
2008 The yard underwent a Yard Improvement Programme (YIP), focussing on a new
organisation structure and new methods of on-time delivery, budget control and quality
assurance.
2009 The yard’s Romanian Managing Director was replaced by Kees de Ruiter as interim
Managing Director to implement a modern management style in which management
responsibility in both Production and Project Management was revaluated. The function of
Human Resources was introduced at highest management level; QC developed an active
QA task; KPI’s and BBSC were launched to monitor management targets closely.
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6. Launchings
The shipyard during the interim management period
underwent a transition from a typical cargo vessel and
tanker builder to a yard for the construction of off-shore
and anchor handling vessels, navy, coastguard and
research ships, next to the more complicated and one-
off tug and workboats.
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17. Visitors
Although the shipyard has no responsibility for order
acquisition and was considered a „production unit” in
the DAMEN Group, it carries out numerous commercial
and PR activities.
Not only for so-called „first cutting”, „keel-laying” and
„launching” activities have to be organised for the
various clients, also the relations with the Romanian
Local and National Government and Labour Institutions,
as well as the Board of DAMEN Group and it’s Non-
excutive Directors have to be well maintained.
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24. Living in Galati
Depending on the workload in the shipyard,
in particular in the outfitting stages of the
various vessels under construction,
foreigners come to the shipyard for
installation and commissioning jobs.
At average some 10-15 foreigners, mainly
Dutch are active in the yard of which some
semi-permanently as Project Managers and
Commissioning Engineers. A nice bunch of
people to have a beer with at the end of the
day on a terrace or in a pub. The regular
men-talk here is not about cars, football or
women but purely on technical matters.
Nonetheless, a lot could be learned, even
after working time...
My wife Willemijn came once to the quiet,
but also unexiting town of Galati, although In
summer the weather is fine with an
occasional happening in town. She rightly
decided that the town was not her place to
be permanent. The MERCUR hotel, however,
that was ready in March 2009 was of
excellent quality and I enjoyed the large and
beautiful apartment very much.
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31. The farewell party was organised at my 64th birthday on 16 December 2009 in Café Rotterdam in Galati. This
was a great evening. Because of my leave, I was happy to be able to make a donation to the Foundation “Heart
of a Child” that does a great job for children abandoned by their parents, disabled and infected with HIV.
