The first step in this mission is a visit to the Helsinki Shipyard, acquired last year by Chantier Davie. During this visit, delegates will be able to establish contacts with several Finnish companies in the naval supply chain.
“If we are in Finland this week, it is because there is a supply chain there which is very well established. The country is used to taking out ships on a regular basis,” says Pierre Drapeau, CEO of Naval Québec, in an interview. “We must understand that at the same time there is a reconstruction of the shipbuilding industry in Quebec. There are companies that have experience that they must strengthen with partnerships and through market development as well. This can also be done abroad as part of this mission [en Finlande]», he adds.
“There is not only Helsinki Shipyard, but there is also the Meyer shipyard in Turku which produces cruise ships in particular. […] It’s a tight-knit industry there. We have a lot to learn from environments like these”
Naval Québec is the group that until recently called itself the Chantier Davie Canada Suppliers Association. Remember that the name of the association was changed to better represent Quebec’s naval supply chain.
Second economic mission
It is also useful to remember that last year, a similar mission was carried out in France, while the association was still known under its old name. “It will look a bit like what we saw in Saint-Nazaire in France last year with the other delegation,” adds Mr. Drapeau.
From this first mission, new partnerships were born. “First, the Institut maritime du Québec, which is our standard bearer in terms of training, seized the opportunity. It was recently pointed out to me that they were going to work on a project with the University of Toulon and a few other agencies in the surrounding area. And last November, the Institute announced that it was going to improve training programs in Quebec,” he says. “It must be said that Toulon is an environment that lives around the naval industry. It is the largest military port in France.”
As for the other partnership, InnovMarine has formed an association with the company Enovia from Toulon. The Lévis firm offers computerized solutions to support engineers in monitoring renovation or construction contracts. “It already existed in the construction industry [immobilière]. But in the naval environment, there aren’t many. […] Together, the two companies worked on their partnership and they made a proposal to the Royal Canadian Navy, announced a few weeks ago during our Canadian Naval Maintenance Symposium in Brossard.”
Mr. Drapeau believes that the sum of small gestures like these, made during different missions, will strengthen Quebec’s naval industry. “We certainly don’t expect Varstilla, which has been manufacturing engines for decades in Finland on most ships in the world, to move to Lévis. We are not dreamers. What we want to do is several good little moves.”
This economic mission is supported, in particular by Chantier Davie, but also by Business Finland. This is the Finnish government organization responsible for financing innovation, trade, travel and investment and promotion.
“There will be many partnerships and knowledge transfer opportunities for Finnish shipbuilding companies as part of the collaboration between Davie and Helsinki shipyards. Business Finland will continue to work with both ecosystems, in Finland and Canada, to foster the creation of strong know-how sharing,” said Katerina Ioannou, Senior Advisor Global Growth at Business Finland.
The transport costs linked to this report are partially paid by Naval Québec which invited The sun to its economic mission in Finland.
