One of the company’s strengths is its ability to handle turnkey deliveries of public spaces on vessels of all sizes from start to finish, including electrical, plumbing and air conditioning work. Naturally, NIT also makes use of its network of subcontractors depending on the situation and site.
NIT, located in Piikkiö near Turku, lives in strong symbiosis with the Meyer Turku shipyard for understandable reasons. However, the turnkey supplier has other customers all over the world.
“Meyer’s order book is very strong, and our order book is also full for the next three or four years as the cruise business is booming. Of course, this requires us to remain competitive and do our work well,” Jari Suominen says.
“Meyer Turku’s new Carnival series is a major step forward for NIT. It means that larger ships will be built at a faster pace. Previously, ships were being completed at an average rate of one per year in Turku, but the new Carnival series and the expansions and the efficiency improvements of the shipyard will increase this rate to around 1.5 per year. More for everyone to build,” Suominen explains.
The booming cruise ship business seems to continue its growth. As companies begin to catch up with their order backlogs, shipyards and ship owners are gradually approaching each others to negotiate new projects. Understandably, shipyards would like to fill their future order books for an even longer period of time.
“NIT works in the same way – we would also like our voice to be heard on future projects,” Suominen says.
Cruise ship boom going on in Norway
As a subcontracting company, NIT (which stands for Naval Interior Team) has offices in Turku and Piikkiö in Finland, as well as locations in Germany, Norway and Japan. The last of these, in Nagasaki, has been shuttered until the Japanese shipbuilding industry shows signs of recovery.
“Japan would like to build cruise ships, but they are still waiting for better times. China also shares this goal, and it needs know-how from European shipyards to achieve this. China is still something of a mystery for all of us,” Suominen says. He mentions that NIT has so far held back from entering China.
Norway, on the other hand, represents a very attractive opportunity for Finnish companies as it becomes a rising star in building cruise ships.
“Norway is undergoing a cruise ship boom. Right now, ship owners over there are ordering ice-reinforced excursion vessels with a very high quality of fittings. This is a good thing for us because NIT is able to build the public spaces for slightly smaller polar or adventure cruise ships from start to finish itself,” Jari Suominen says.
NIT employs just under 100 shipbuilding professionals. The turnkey supplier’s net sales will grow from approximately EUR 17 million in 2018 to a projected EUR 30 million in the current financial period.
