Since last year, Damen Shipyards Group has been divided into six divisions, including Damen Naval. We will be taking an introductory tour of the companies within this division. Today the first instalment: a portrait of engineering firm Multi.

The Belgian engineering firm Multi has been a valued partner of Damen Shipyards Group for many years. The Group makes good use of the craftsmanship that Multi offers in the field of ship design. Multi has in-house specialists who can handle both basic engineering and detailed design for Damen’s shipbuilding projects. “We actually control the entire shipbuilding story,” says Design & Engineering Manager Dieter Hoeterickx. “We are therefore versatile. We offer engineering expertise for mechanical, construction and naval architecture.” Multi is now part of the Damen Naval Division within the Damen Group. While it is not technically a Damen company, it has been working with Damen for years within the Delta Marine Engineering (DME) joint venture.

Niko Fierens, Managing Director at Multi Niko Fierens, Managing Director at Multi

Within DME, Damen (and back then, also De Schelde) has a 54 per cent share, and Multi has a share of 46 per cent. “The great thing about our collaboration is that Damen and DME speak the same language, both literally and figuratively,” says Dieter. “We are on the same page and have almost the same working methods, with the same software, but also in terms of processes and ideas about how to best tackle a project.”

“What is also nice is that we are well aware of the production processes that Damen uses. We can already take those specific processes into account in our design work,” adds Multi’s Managing Director Niko Fierens.

Dieter Hoeterickx, Manager Design & Engineering at Multi Dieter Hoeterickx, Manager Design & Engineering at Multi

Niko: “We take on both small and large assignments and we are very flexible. This means that we can swiftly get our personnel into gear when an assignment arrives. We can quickly get started with an assignment.” Multi boasts a wide range of competences, which is also seen as a big plus point in the cooperation. “We employ naval architects, draughtsmen and engineers, but we also have quite a few people with an operational background who have practical experience with shipping companies and, thanks to that experience, know what it is like to sail and maintain a ship,” explains Niko.

Multi currently works within DME for Damen Naval, Damen Yachting, Damen Shiprepair & Conversion and Damen in Gorinchem. At Damen Yachting they provided basic and detailed engineering for the new-build Wingman project (YS7512) and the ‘Here Comes The Sun’ refit project. At Damen Naval, Multi is involved in, among other things, Integrated Logistic Support (ILS) projects – the preparation of maintenance that must be carried out on a ship after delivery – and with the construction of the Combat Support Ship (CSS) for the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Multi was founded 25 years ago and now has 250 employees working from offices based in Belgium (Ghent and Temse), the Netherlands and Slovakia.

“It is precisely because we have known each other for so long – since the time of De Schelde – that the collaboration is so good”

Besides Vlissingen, Multi’s Dutch offices are located in Amsterdam, Zwijndrecht, Delft and Breda. At the time of the agency’s founding, the Belgian shipbuilding was in difficulty. Many draughtsmen and engineers who were in danger of losing their jobs in the sector sought out refuge with companies like dredging operator Jan de Nul or with Multi, so that the knowledge and know-how gained did not have to be lost, say Niko and Dieter. Within two years after starting out, Multi had started working for the Schelde shipyard in Vlissingen as a partner within DME. Multi’s work for Damen is actually twofold: the engineering firm lends out specialists or carries out engineering assignments in its own offices.

The latter happens for Navy projects, for instance. Niko: “Because of the confidentiality issues often accompanying naval contracts, it is difficult to outsource engineering work packages. The customer demands that the work is carried out as much as possible within Damen Naval’s own walls.” Multi was also intensively involved in the proposal process for the construction of mine hunting vessels for Belgium and the Netherlands: “a race that, in the end, we unfortunately lost”. Although their company has suffered from the coronavirus crisis (“you can see a pause in investment decisions”), Niko and Dieter are optimistic about Multi’s future collaboration with Damen.

“We can strengthen each other’s position within the maritime industry. Damen has a head start in the sector because, within their entire Group, they have the combined knowledge of new-build, conversion and repair of ships – and in the field of engineering, these are the disciplines that Multi also has an excellent command. We see good prospects in military shipbuilding and in the new-build and refitting of luxury yachts,” says Managing Director Niko. But the specialists at Multi also want to support Damen further in research and innovation and are happy to play the role of co-maker in this.

“Here, you can think of alternative propulsion technologies such as hydrogen and methanol, and the design of wind-assisted ships, which are ships that use wind systems for extra propulsion.” Dieter concludes: “It is precisely because we have known each other for so long – since the time of De Schelde – that the collaboration is so good.”

 

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