Romica Tie Group

ROMICA TIE GROUP

TURNING

TIDETHE

The Romica Tie Group (RTG) was founded by Mike Turner and his father, Bob Turner, 20 years ago to combine their knowledge in the design and manufacture of deck equipment. Over the last 20 years, the father and son duo created a highly successful business. Owner and Managing Director Mike Turner reviewed the company’s latest operations. Report by Imogen Ward.

Bob and Mike Turner initially set up as an engineering and consultancy office but decided to vertically integrate its supply chain and manufacture its own products in-house A-Z in 2006.

“Initially, we looked to supply consultancy, vessel layout and complete deck machinery designs, together with quality and inspec -

tion services. We wanted to leave the production of the deck equipment to local subcontracted manufacturers,” explained Mike Turner.

RTG’s work in the beginning was low volume and not deemed financially attractive for the local producers. So, in 2006 RTG rented a workshop and put together a team

Romica Tie Group owner and Managing Director Mike Turner

of engineers, fabricators and system integrators. In 2010, a purpose-built factory was constructed in Satu Mare, Romania. Since then, the company has invested in machine tools each year to increase capacity, production efficiency and capability to produce larger, more complex products.

The Turners’ key solutions

Boasting a wide range of capabilities, RTG designs and manufactures deck machinery at its facility in Romania, utilising the knowledge and expertise of almost 100 full-time professionals. RTG does everything from designing through to installation on the vessel, qualified welding and fabrication, mechanical assembly, hydraulic and electrical installation. PLC programming, automation, testing, commission, and onsite installation are all services available to customers, providing a one-stop shop.

Mr Turner was keen to emphasise the strength of the relationships with clients: “We develop ‘strategic’ partnerships with our clients, many of whom have worked with us since we began in 2003,” he said. “We build and maintain deep relationships for the long term, so it is essential we are in tune with the problems clients face and develop products and services as well as RTG’s key business success factors, which align with our partners’ needs.

“RTG designs and manufactures a wide variety of standard products and turnkey solutions, winches, cranes, and integrated launch and recovery systems. We developed market leading solutions for constant tension control systems: our winch and con trol system successfully set a working

depth record of 3,000m for a CPT geotechnical sample.”

Such constant tension systems are frequently used on wind farm applications, typically in shallower water when a study of the seabed is undertaken to assess its suitability: RTG geotechnical winches work in tandem with devices that extract geotechnical samples from the seabed. Its survey winches also work with side-scan sonars to map the ocean floor; in both cases, the safe deployment and recovery of the equipment and operator, are of paramount importance.

“What differentiates us from our competitors,” added Mr Turner, “is our focus on providing the client with tailored solutions: in understanding the clients’ pain,

we have the perfect basis to develop relevant products.

“RTG have always focused on the client’s need first, rather than pushing a standard product or standard system.”

RTG offers a wide range of turnkey solutions and products:

• Standard products: winches, hydraulic power units, seismic handling systems, A-frames, cranes, pipe and cable laying systems, cable storage, cable spooler and corer handling systems

• Build-to-Print with welding, large fabrication, large dimension CNC machining, assembly and integration capabilities

• Bespoke systems, built to customer requirements

Securing future generations

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Mr Turner was keen to highlight his company’s sustainability goals: “Our mission statement is that we are ‘committed to sustainability and the customer’s com -

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petitive advantage’ – the company is hard at work finding solutions to aid the planet.”

“We are also fully committed to reducing our impact on the environment and are currently in the first phase of installing 150kW of solar panels onto our factory roof; within two years, we plan to increase the capacity to 700kW and thus to be energy independent. I have a young family, and I appreciate the importance of sustaining the planet to ensure a brighter future for them. From a business perspective, we are focused on providing solutions for the renewables sector.”

RTG has set business objectives to increase organisational process efficiency and reduce waste through better use of

resources. Long-term sustainability is of the highest importance to Mr Turner, and RTG’s objectives serve to protect the planet and make the organisation more economically viable at the same time.

Suppliers are also a vital element of RTG’s progressive journey towards being greener. The company values the importance of long-term relationships and has an auditing system to ensure its supply chain remains ethical. Choosing suppliers who align with the company’s ethos is paramount.

A family affair

Mr Turner is clearly incredibly fond of RTG: “Looking back, I’m filled with pride. The company has developed thousands of products and solutions, harnessing

the talent of its staff with fulfilling jobs and careers. We have successfully provided bespoke products and technical solutions to many research institutions around the world: I am particularly proud that RTG has helped to advance the cause of oceanographic research.”

The Managing Director was also keen to highlight the company’s development: “We have a fantastic team; each member has grown personally and professionally over the years and can rightly consider themselves specialists in the production of deck equipment. Such specialist experience is accumulated over time - successfully converting the lessons learned from more challenging projects into evermore innovative and optimised solutions.

“We will commemorate the 20th anniversary with our employees, to celebrate our achievements and the dedication of our

entire team here at RTG. It is RTG’s dedicated staff and the daily commitment that each employee puts in that makes the difference.”

The company’s commitment to the local community is evident in its work towards opening its own trade school, initially to increase the skills and competencies of its own junior employees, then expanding to serve the wider local community: “We want to offer our employees opportunities to grow and fulfil their potential,” Mr Turner explained. “So, we have focused on setting up a trades school which will allow apprentices (and mature students) to gain a qualification. It is important to retain, renew and transfer the skills within the organisation with the next generation.”

“I think it’s an important investment, not just for RTG, but for the local community too,” Mr Turner stressed. “We hope to collaborate with all the local stakeholders, and

it’s a major strategic objective we will prioritise for the future.”

RTG sees its future best served through innovative collaboration, having developed specific skills over the last 20 years. That complete set of in-house skills provides a competitive advantage. “We feel they are best exploited by being open to collaboration with all the operators in our market,” added Mr Turner. “We try and find areas where we can complement our ‘competitors’ in the sector and engage with them collaboratively. It has been a most challenging few years and I think one of the best ways to develop and succeed as a company is by finding ways to collaborate.”

Mr Turner clearly demonstrates a desire to make things better, and a willingness to learn from challenging experiences. He defines clear targets and goals and effective communication, and nurtures a collaborative work culture, maintaining ethical organisational values conducive to fairness, teamwork and transparency.

“We have maintained an inclusive work environment where everyone feels comfortable to offer new ideas,” Mr Turner concluded. “I believe this is essential for innovation and will continue to be the secret of RTG’s success in the future, having been a major contributory factor over the last 20 years.”