This year‘s supplier award event of Meyer Werft, »Partner des Jahres 2010« emphasized once again the important role regional and (inter-)national suppliers are playing for the shipyard. Representatives from high-performance partner companies from the shipbuilding industry had accepted the invitation to come to Papenburg‘s Alte Werft convention centre.
Awarding the prize »Partner des Jahres« took centre stage of this event for the fifth time already. Meyer Werft’s best[ds_preview] suppliers who excelled in terms of organisation, quality, reliability and occupational safety were honoured in the categories mechanical engineering, electrotechnics, outfitting and interiors / accommodation. Also, a special prize was awarded based on the results of the supplier ratings conducted for the cruise ships »Aida Blu« and »Celebrity Eclipse« which the shipyard delivered to the owners in 2010.
The award ceremony was certainly at the core of the event, but the focus was also on the issue of Meyer Werft’s continuous improvement process. The measures which are currently being implemented step by step throughout the whole shipyard within the scope of the »Lean Shipbuilding« system were explained to the suppliers in detail. The goal is to stand up against the massive pressure on prices for cruise ships by means of a considerable increase in productivity. Looking at the high proportion of work that is contracted out per cruise ship it is indispensable to the yard to incorporate its suppliers in this new production strategy to a very high degree. It is only in cooperation with its partners that the shipyard can successfully face the price war in the market, at the same time safeguarding the quality of its products.
