Friesland Cable sets sail for new horizons

Key components of our strategic realignment are the expansion of our product range to include military marine cables in accordance with BAAINBw VG standard 95218 and civilian marine cables from the Prysmian Group, as well as our internationalization strategy. With Yvonne Kroscky, Friesland-Kabel has gained a new employee who will help drive this process forward as International Sales Director. The realignment will also be supported by a close exchange and synergies with our parent company Klaus Faber AG.

The chamber of industry and commerce of Schwerin wrote a detailed report on this in the magazine Wirtschaftskompass, issue 12/2023.

Following the insolvency of the MV WERFTEN Group, many supplier companies are facing major challenges. Friesland-Kabel GmbH is nevertheless holding on to its logistics centre in Wismar and is positioning itself for the future with a new corporate strategy.

The maritime industry plays an important role in the coastal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This includes shipbuilding, the offshore industry, manufacturing, service and engineering supply companies, port operations, shipping and fishing companies as well as the maritime tourism and education sector. It is estimated that in 2019, the more than 2,000 maritime companies in the country with more than 37,500 employees generated a turnover of around 6.6 billion euros and added value of 2.5 billion euros. This is according to a study by the Rostock Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

MARKET LEADER IN GERMANY

Friesland-Kabel GmbH is a company in the maritime industry that contributes to regional value creation in West Mecklenburg. Founded in 2007, Friesland-Kabel GmbH specializes in cables and wires for use on ships and in the offshore and standard sectors. The portfolio also includes the production of cables according to special customer requirements. The company supplies well-known shipyards and electrical installation companies, mainly in Germany, but also in Europe, Asia and South America. Friesland-Kabel GmbH specializes in sales and full-service logistics and has the largest ship cable warehouse in Germany.

LOGISTICS CENTER IN WISMAR

In December 2018, Klaus Faber AG from Saarland, one of Europe's largest cable distributors, took over Friesland-Kabel, which had been owner-managed until then. In 2019, a branch was established in the Hanseatic city of Wismar, primarily to meet the growing needs of the MV WERFTEN sites in Wismar, Warnemünde and Stralsund. A logistics center was set up in Wismar on the basis of a comprehensive framework agreement with MV Werften. Until then, the shipyard locations were supplied from the logistics center in Lüneburg.

SHIPYARDS COLLAPSE

The insolvency of the MV WERFTEN Group posed major challenges for many supplier companies in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Friesland-Kabel GmbH also had to adjust its plans when it lost one of its largest single customers and, among other things, had to postpone a planned new building on its second site in Wismar. Nevertheless, the cable retailer is sticking with the Wismar site.

NEW PROSPECTS

The takeover of the shipyard site by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems GmbH (tkMS) and the relocation of the naval arsenal to Rostock-Warnemünde have opened up new prospects. Even if this is not yet reflected in incoming orders, further expressions of interest in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as a coastal location give reason to hope that the maritime industry in the state will revive. For example, the Dutch steel manufacturer Smulders and the Norwegian shipbuilder Fosen Yard are looking into setting up operations in Rostock and Stralsund.

INTERNATIONALIZATION AND PRODUCT EXPANSION

Against this backdrop, Friesland- Kabel GmbH has adapted its corporate strategy and expanded its existing product portfolio in the core segments of civil and military marine cables and onshore/offshore cables. In cooperation with the Prysmian Group, the world’s largest cable manufacturer, the company now also offers military marine cables in accordance with the VG standard. In addition, Friesland-Kabel GmbH will increasingly address the international market in the future.

PERSONNEL STRENGTHENING

To this end, the German market leader in the field of marine cables has strengthened its staff: in Yvonne Kroscky, the company has gained a new employee with many years of international sales experience at a German shipyard, the supply industry and a cable manufacturer. "We have been working very intensively and successfully with shipyards and electrical installation companies in Germany for a long time - we are continuously expanding this cooperation. In order to further scale our successful concept, we will increasingly focus on the international market in the future. We are convinced that our decades of experience in the maritime industry in Germany can also be used profitably for our partners beyond national borders. In addition, Ms. Kroscky's expertise in the international maritime market environment will enrich us and I look forward to working with her," says Malte Witowski, Managing Director of Friesland-Kabel GmbH.

© Wirtschaftskompass, magazine of chamber of industry and commerce of Schwerin