After the acquisition in July 2018 of Blohm + Voss La Ciotat, MB92 Group announced in September 2018 the acquisition of the shipyard Compositeworks, and the creation of a new entity, MB92 La Ciotat. In October, MB92 La Ciotat was chosen as a strategic partner for the future 4000 T platform which will be launched in operation in 2020/2021 on the site of La Ciotat Shipyards. Ben Mennem, former head of Compositeworks and now President of MB92 La Ciotat speaks about this acquisition and reveals current developments.
LCS: Will the acquisition of Compositeworks by MB92 cause changes in your internal organization … and for your customers?
Ben Mennem: This acquisition first responds to an industrial logic: The objective was to combine the best of Compositeworks and the best of MB92.
Concretely, we have spent a year getting to know each other and confronting our respective working methods. This year, Year 2, we’ll be able to learn from these observations to improve our performance. I would also like to emphasize that these lessons will lead to practical developments, not only in La Ciotat but also in Barcelona. The ultimate goal is to provide on both sites, services and expertise comparable and of an even better level than those proposed previously on each site separately.
LCS: In your opinion, what did the acquisition of Compositeworks by MB92 bring?
Ben Mennem: We are now clearly the world leader in refit of yachts and our customers will benefit from it. This acquisition has enabled the realization of a significant investment in the future 4000T platform in La Ciotat and has allowed us to gain flexibility in managing our services between the sites of Barcelona and La Ciotat Shipyards. By sharing experiences like I just mentioned, we will also be more efficient, and we will be able to expand our portfolio of local subcontractors.
After a difficult year in 2017 mainly due to the reform of the ENIM, we will achieve, only in La Ciotat, a turnover of approximately EUR 50 million in 2018. For 2019, we expect an increase of 10 to 15% in our turnover.
LCS: Are recruitment and partnerships on the agenda?
Ben Mennem: Yes, with our new ambitions, we have planned numerous recruitments in 2019, both technicians and administrative staff. If we want to offer the same expertise in Barcelona and La Ciotat, we must create an almost similar chart for the two shipyards.
We’re also working on the signing of new partnerships with subcontractors, in order to have permanent external resources on site.
