Shanghai: Lifeboat and davit manufacturer Schat-Harding has established a new after sales and service headquarters in Shanghai. The new service base will provide annual and five yearly SOLAS inspections and tests, refurbishment, repairs and genuine OEM spares for lifeboats, davits, hooks and winches on ships calling at Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese ports.
Andrew Lemmis, after sales and service manager for Schat-Harding China says, "We now have nine fully trained engineers and in the next few months that will rise to thirteen. They are backed by a co-ordination and spares team which together will ensure that ship and offshore unit operators will get rapid, fully authorised service and support for all Schat-Harding brands."
The Shanghai engineers are backed by a further team of fully trained and authorised technicians at Schat-Harding's Qingdao plant. "During this year we are also expecting to open up smaller service offices in both North and South China, to improve speed of response in those areas, and we expect to have over 30 China-based engineers by the end of the year, rising to 50 by 2010," says Lemmis.
"We are also establishing a training school for service engineers in Qingdao, to supplement our school in Norway and provide training for both our own engineers and those of our service partners. Shipowners can now book services with confidence that they will meet all the requirements of IMO MSC1206, and will have genuine spare parts correctly installed. All the offices will also be linked to our SHIELD database, sharing knowledge and keeping owners with service contracts fully up to date with the status of their life saving appliances. Their crews will be safer and their ships less likely to be delayed."
To date the Shanghai team has serviced 60 vessels. It expects to service over 250 vessels this year. [18/04/07]
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