German propulsion company Schottel has announced that it and Turkish electrical integration specialsi Elkon will operate as partners in the maritime market in the future.
A contract for the purchase of the majority stake in Elkon by holding company Schottel Industries has been signed in Istanbul. With the takeover, Schottel intends to grow strategically stronger.
Schottel CEO Stefan Kaul said: “With Elkon as renowned and very successful supplier of electrical power system engineering, design and integration for vessels, we will be able to achieve this. We will expand our portfolio to include everything regarding generation, distribution, storage and management of electrical energy on board of vessels. Schottel becomes a complete system supplier for electrical and green propulsion.”
In the overall scope of both companies, energy-efficient propulsion concepts, hybridisation and electrification are now offered in a complementary way. There is a particular overlap in the field of propulsion hybridisation in the new build and conversion business. Customers can continue to benefit from the usual agile, professional and independent services of both companies in the market. The customer advantage lies in the expansion of both portfolios and the possible commissioning of turnkey solutions for propulsion systems and system integration. On both sides, the option to integrate respective market partners remains available.
Ertuğ Yaşar, MD Elkon, said: “In the past, Schottel and Elkon have already been contracted independently of each other in projects on several occasions. They involved virtually every possible vessel type, from tugs and ferries to offshore vessels. Both companies thus play an important role in the customers’ decision-making process. In the longer term, they will benefit from each other and further develop, especially towards Green Propulsion.”
Elkon will take a leap forward in internationalisation: In addition to the current regional focus on Europe, some Caspian sea countries and Middle East as well as North America, customers of the Tuzla-based company will benefit from the global reach of the Schottel network, comprising more than 170 service engineers as well as service locations in important shipping centres.
Andreas Block, GM Schottel Industries, said: “Both companies are among the competence leaders in their respective areas of influence – a position they have earned through decades of reliability and a keen focus on customer interests. The focus is now on combining the competences in the long term and in letting them unfold in a financially strong environment, in order to ideally cover the future requirements.”
Schottel will take over the majority stake in Elkon from the family investment house Vera Capital; the minority stake will remain with Elkon’s senior engineers and management. Elkon will become a legally independent subsidiary of Schottel Industries, a holding company which, in addition to Schottel itself, includes companies in the automation and gearbox technology sectors.
The takeover is expected to take effect this spring, following a review by antitrust authorities.
