CEO MESSAGE
A
s we move into the summer months and draw towards the end of our financial year, I would like to extend my thanks to our Wallem seafarers and staff who show strong dedication to our customers and to the Company in their daily lives. It is your dedication, and professionalism and demonstration of our “True North” values which makes us stand apart.
The beginning of 2017 has been a good one for the Group as we continue to win new clients and look within ourselves to seek greater efficiencies and ways of doing business. The theme of this issue is ‘Exceptional Customer Service’ and we are always looking at finding ways to ensure that our customers get a good experience at every point of their journey with us. This service applies both to outside the company in our interactions with our customers and inside, in our interactions with our internal customers – namely our seafarers and staff. In June 2017, our Wallem Thailand office celebrates 50 years of business. In our Lead story (on pages 3-6), we pay a special homage to this region by looking at how our operations there all started, the services we offer now and what makes Wallem Thailand the preferred partner. We also feature a special interview with our highly experienced colleague, Ms Chalinee Nankhonon who looks after our aviation client in Thailand. Khun Chalinee reveals her biggest challenge and achievement to date and she lets us in on the secrets to her success. Wallem people are indeed what makes us stand apart and on page 19-20 we hear from one of our interns who is on a 10 month assignment in our Hong Kong office. Robbie Outram tells us the impression all the different Wallem teams he’s worked with have had on him and how he values this internship. Safety is as always a continual focus at Wallem and in the ‘Safety Focus’ section of this issue on page14, we celebrate the captain and crew of two vessels that have achieved three successful Oil Major SIRE inspections, with few or no observations in the last 12 months. In our special interview feature on pages 17-18, Captain Arindam Biswas also talks about the importance of safety; in particular how he goes the extra mile to ensure safety is paramount onboard and that our customers’ assets are being well looked after. Be sure to turn to pages 22-24 to read about our new Marine HR system ‘Compas’ and the positive impact that it will have on our seafarers and shore-based staff – in particular by improving communications and through operational efficiencies. We are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead with the transition to this new system and how we can find innovative ways to utilise all its capabilities to better serve both our internal and external customers. I hope you enjoy reading this latest issue of our True North magazine. Let us know which article you liked most. And to our seafarers, I wish you fair winds and calm seas. Safe sailing!
Simon Doughty Wallen Group CEO
TRUE NORTH THE WAY FORWARD