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Feature 2 | GERMANY


European expansion for US designer A leading American naval architecture firm has opened a European subsidiary.


G


uido Perla & Associates Inc (GPA), headquartered in Seattle, USA, is further expanding its


international focus after opening an offi ce in Shanghai, China in 2004, and has announced the establishment of a European subsidiary based in Germany, called Guido Perla Europe GmbH (GPE GmbH). GPE GmbH will initially handle the


sales, marketing and PR function, as well as existing customer support. ‘T e strategic decision to further expand GPA into Europe supports our vision of being a truly global player’, said Inga Scholz, general manager of GPE GmbH. ‘Europe accounts for a major share in the maritime industry and we believe it to be vital for us to have a direct presence in such a key market.’ ‘We are proud to be associated with


European key players such as Groupe Bourbon, considering them as one of our most prominent customers, and we are excited about further exploring the opportunities in the European market’ says Guido Perla, owner of GPA, GPA Shanghai, and GPE GmbH. GPA are now exhibited at SMM Hamburg 2008, for the very fi rst time. Since its foundation in 1979 GPA has


Twenty eight of the GPA 254L AHTS are currently under construction at Dayang City Shipyard, and 26 identical vessels will be built at the new Zhejiang’s facility in Ningbo.


provided a full range of services to include conceptual and preliminary design, bid packages and regulatory design, scientifi c/ engineering analysis, feasibility studies, production engineering, construction management and owner representation, as well as expert witness services. While GPA’s clientele is mainly USA based, the company also enjoys a loyal customer base in the Asian, South American, and European maritime markets. GPA’s extensive portfolio includes


vessel types ranging from platform support vessels (PSV), fast supply vessels


(FSV), anchor handling tug supply vessels (AHTS), CNG carriers, tugs, barges, icebreakers, cargo vessels, fast pilot boats, ferries, research vessels, fi reboats, navy vessels, fi shing vessels, yachts, and excursion-, cruise-, and casino vessels. During the recent expansion in the


offshore industry, GPA has, with about 140 GPA-designed vessels already or within the next three years serving the offshore industry, established the position as the global leader in the design of next generation PSVs. GPA pioneered the use of integrated diesel- electric propulsion to offshore vessel designs, giving it the knowledge and experience to exploit the advantages and flexibility of the diesel-electric system by originating the concept of locating the engineroom above the main deck as it did with the development of the GPA 654 PSV in 2003. The first of 10 of these innovative


Ten of the GPA 696 inspection, maintenance, and repair vessels were ordered in February 2008 by Bourbon Offshore and will be constructed at Zhejiang Shipyard in China.


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vessels was delivered by Bollinger in 2007, and led to the development of the GPA 654M PSV and GPA 254L AHTS designs, which have combined orders to date of 88 vessels worldwide. Locating the engineroom above the main deck maximises the below deck cargo carrying capacity of these vessels, creating capacities usually found in much larger vessels. SBI


Ship & Boat International September/October 2008


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