Vestdavit

Founded in 1982, Vestdavit provides davits tailored to meet customer needs. The company mainly serves two customer segments, the navy and coastguard, plus offshore energy industries. The company offers a specialised service that protects both vessels and people. Managing Director Rolf Andreas Wigand discussed Vestdavit’s expansion and commitment to high-quality service, in conversation with Antonia Cole.

Headquartered in Norway, Vestdavit works to provide safe boat handling through high-quality davits and service. With offices in the US and the Netherlands, as well as a factory in Poland, the company has a global service network prepared to undertake inspections and deliver spare parts quickly and efficiently.

Vestdavit’s boat-handling systems are sophisticated solutions, equipped with wave-compensating winches, shock absorbers and other technologies. The systems are designed for high-performance and frequent use over a long lifespan, often in harsh conditions with high sea states, compared with lower-spec systems that are typically used less frequently in more benign marine environments.

In the late ‘90s, the company secured a contract with the US Navy, retrofitting davits

to the Ticonderoga class of guided-missile cruisers, which started the international expansion of Vestdavit to the successful global operation that is run today. Through expansion into international markets, the company has increased its customer base and is now focusing on major NATO countries.

Four years ago, Vestdavit invested in a production facility in Poland. This allows the company to control and manage the entire value chain, from design and engineering to procurement and commissioning. The company has the ability to customise and specialise its products to fit client requirements more closely, thus providing better service.

Starting with nine employees, Vestdavit has gradually and

VESTDAVIT I PROFILE

organically grown to now employ 120 people. With rapid expansion of the global offshore wind industry, naval market and the oil & gas sector, the com pany attained an all-time high order of €50 million and a revenue of €25 million in 2023.

The global naval and energy sector remains the biggest market for Vestdavit. The company specialises in delivering davits and support systems that can withstand harsh weather conditions and are tailor-made to meet a customer’s needs.

“Here at Vestdavit, we have always been driven to provide the most innovative and the best lifesaving equipment to those at sea,” said Managing Director Rolf Andreas Wigand. “With our wealth of experience and continuous innovative expertise, Vestdavit is equipped to offer unique boat handling solutions across the shipping and maritime industries.”

Durable davits

Vestdavit offers a range of launch and recovery systems, as well as mission bay handling systems. The company’s portfolio of launch and recovery systems consists of deck mounted and deck head davits. The company also provides a range of Telescopic davits with a capacity range between 2,000kg to 25,000kg in single point mode. The TDB type are of a high degree of redundancy which provides an advantage in the prevailing market place.

The company’s FRC and MOB davits are equipped with advanced functionalities to meet a customer’s specific requirements. The reliable machinery supports the launch and recovery process in conditions up to Sea State 6.

As well as this, Vestdavit offers dual point workboat davits designed to handle even the largest of work boats and daughter crafts of up to 60 tonnes. Computer augmentation and dual fall technology work to assist the operator in the safe launch and recovery of vessels in harsh weather conditions.

The Mission Bay Handling System from Vestdavit can lift a wide range of boats and equipment, enabling ships to store and deploy a variety of assets either side of the vessel safely. This system can stow,

launch and retrieve multiple RIBS, daughter boats and USVs from within a protected hangar.

Over time, the company has been increasing the performance and safety of products through tools such as shock absorbers, self-tension systems, wire pillars, painter booms, guiding arms, PLC control and other innovative technologies.

“Our focus is only on davits,” explained Mr Wigand. “This means that we are able to invest all our energy into developing the best quality davits on the market. To maintain our position within the industry, we have had to be innovative and produce new solutions to our customers’ challenges. Everything is made to satisfy unique specifications, which is what keeps us at the forefront of the market.”

Steady success

One of the company’s individualised solutions was for a Danish wind service operator. A long-term customer of Vestdavit, the wind service operator already had 15 davits for its daughter craft. These davits had very high specifications for safety and operational windows, which Vestdavit was able to provide.

The wind service operator is now building even bigger ships and in collaboration with the customer, Vestdavit developed a special dual point davit system. This system can lift a 25 tonne daughter craft or service boat, alternatively it can lift a standard 15 tonne boat on a single point lift.

“This project succeeded through collaboration and communication,” said Mr Wigand. “We make sure to fully understand the needs of our clients and develop a solution that suits them. We adjust our designs until the customer is completely satisfied with the result and

Managing Director

Rolf Andreas Wigand

this level of service is what encourages customer loyalty.”

In 2023, Vestdavit saw order intake increase by 76%, due to high-quality davits and personalised customer service. The company has also expanded its position within the offshore wind market

with 30% of sales now coming from the sector. Vestdavit is entering new markets with a significant sale in Italy, as well as securing a contract in Canada. Whilst also maintaining its presence in the UK, US, Australia, Germany, France and Spain.

As a result of Vestdavit’s success, it is expanding its facility in Poland. The capacity of the factory will be increased by 35% to meet growing demand. The company is building a new assembly and test facility to improve the site.

Also, to be closer to customers in continental Europe, Vestdavit has set up a subsidiary in the Netherlands. This allows the company to be within the vicinity of large European ports, such as the Port of Rotterdam.

Progressing plans

Vestdavit has over 40 years of experience, which allows it to better serve and advise customers. The company knows what type of davit systems or features would best fit a client’s needs and is able to deliver this efficiently.

It is vital to ensure that davits and boat handling systems are constantly safe and fully operational. Vestdavit has a dedicated after-sales support system that supplies all genuine davit spare parts in accordance with the original build specifications, from installation through to operational phase.

The company has ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications, which assures quality, as well as environmentally conscious procedures. Vestdavit’s focus is on serving customers and as more request environmentally friendly oils in hydraulic systems, the company has been researching bio-oils and how to integrate them into products.

Vestdavit is specialised in building davits from the highest possible quality components so that they can last for the lifetime of the ship, up to 30 years. The company uses non-corrosive parts to provide a high level of protection and longevity.

Moving into the future, Vestdavit foresees great progress in the naval and offshore energy sectors that it is currently serving. With the green shift, there is a lot of potential for growth in these industries, plus the ability to expand into new markets.

“I’ve been leading this company for 18 years,” concluded Mr Wigand. “The progress we have made so far has been fantastic and I am looking forward to the future. At Vestdavit, we are a team and we work towards a common goal, which is really rewarding. The enthusiasm within the company is what will keep us succeeding.” n