New ownership structure does not worry Aker Yard employees at Turku shipyard

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As reported yesterday, South Korean STX Shipbuilding Co. has purchased a major stake in the Norwegian shipbuilding group Aker Yards, which has 18 shipbuilding yards in eight countries, including three in Finland.
      The acquisition came as a surprise to the Aker Yards employees at the Turku shipyard. However, the new ownership structure did not seem to worry the employees as much as the strike by office workers affiliated with the Union of Salaried Employees that began on Monday morning, affecting Aker Yards along with several other firms.
     
Nevertheless, the new co-owner of Aker Yards is something of an unknown quantity to most employees at the shipyard.
      "So far Korea has meant for us more or less the same as a swear-word. However, I do not believe that the deal is going to have any very immediate impact on the shipyard operations in Turku and in Finland. I do not regard it as a threat", said Jari Aalto, the chief shop steward of the Turku shipyard.
      The negative attitude towards Koreans in general is a consequence of a long-standing competition with them in the building of cargo carriers, reported Jari Aalto.
      STX Shipbuilding is South Korea’s third-largest shipbuilder and the seventh-largest worldwide. In 2003 it was listed on the Korea Stock Exchange and went public. The company is planning to expand its business to include certain more lucrative types of vessels, including car ferries and cruise liners. The Finnish yards have performed well in this niche market, and order books are currently strong.
     
Finnish experts do not believe that STX would transfer the production of cruise liners to South Korea, at least not in the near future. The transfer would be very difficult, partly because the production is based on a wide network of subcontractors close to the shipbuilding yard.
      Around two-thirds of the value of the Finnish shipyard production comes from the subcontractors, while only one-third lies with the Aker Yards shipyards in Turku, Rauma, and Helsinki.
     
Apart from shipbuilding, the South Korean company manufactures diesel engines and marine equipment, as well as running a shipping company with 350 vessels. The estimated turnover of the STX Group for 2007 is EUR 7.7 billion. Lasat year STX Shipbuilding had net sales of just under EUR 1.3 billion.
      The move to Korean ownership went down well with investors, and stocks in both Aker and STX saw large gains on Tuesday.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Ownership of Turku, Rauma, and Helsinki shipyards falls into new hands (23.10.2007)

Links:
  STX Shipbuilding
  Aker Yards

Helsingin Sanomat