Ulstein Group is a group of companies that focus on various marine-related industries, but is mainly known for its ship building and ship design activities. The largest unit is Ulstein Verft AS. One recent delivery was the Service Operation Vessel 'Windea La Cour' which is operating at offshore wind farms offshore The Netherlands, the first vessel with not only the inverted bow, X-BOW, but also the X-STERN hull design shapes. The ship design unit, Ulstein Design & Solutions AS came up with the X-BOW design that in the shape of Bourbon Orca delivered in 2006 won the Ship of The Year Award both by Skipsrevyen and Offshore Support Journal. The group also includes companies working with power & control, system solutions and handling equipment for vessels servicing the maritime industries, including offshore renewables, offshore oil & gas, cruise and RoPax. Lately, the company has also been engaged in shipping. The company's head office and primary operations are located in the town of Ulsteinvik in the municipality of Ulstein in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway, an important area for the Norwegian maritime cluster, and with subsidiaries in several other countries.
History
The original company, Ulstein Mekaniske Verksted, was established in 1917 by Martin Ulstein and his brother-in-law Andreas Flø. At age 23, Martin and Andreas founded the company to modify local fishing boats, which were undergoing a global transition from sail-power to motorization. Martin Ulstein borrowed money from Ulstein Sparebank, with his father acting as guarantor, acquired of land from his uncle and set up shop with his brother-in-law and business partner Andreas Flø. After Martin Ulstein's sudden death, his widow Inga took position as Head of the Board, a position she held for many years. Their six children, Dagny, Inger, Magnulf, Kolbein, Idar, and Ragnhild were responsible for the growth of the company to an employer of around 2,800 people in 1992. Vickers acquired Ulstein Group AS except the shipbuilding division in 1999, then Rolls-Royce acquired Vickers a few months later. The current CEO of Ulstein Group is Gunvor Ulstein, granddaughter of the late founder Martin Ulstein. Her brother, Tore Ulstein, is Chairman of the Board.
Divisions
Ulstein Verft AS
Ulstein Verft AS is a shipyard situated in Ulstein Group's primary base of operations, Ulsteinvik, along with Ulstein Design & Solutions AS and Ulstein Power & Control AS. Ulstein Verft was established in 1917, and is the largest employer in the group. The yard specialises in constructing advanced vessels, the latest being offshore wind service vessels, expedition cruise vessels, yachts and passenger vessels, while recent newbuilds include anchor handling tug supply vessels, platform supply vessels, cable layers, construction vessels and seismic survey vessels. The yard also takes on assignments within service and aftermarket, such as docking, mooring, classification, upgrade, conversion, maintenance and repair, crane lifts and barge transportation.
Ulstein Elektro Installasjon AS
Together with Ulstein Verft, Ulstein Elektro Installasjon AS is part of the shipbuilding division in ULSTEIN. The company is responsible for electrical installations on board newbuildings at Ulstein Verft.
Ulstein Design & Solutions AS
Ulstein Design & Solutions AS is located in Ulsteinvik, Norway. The company develops ship designs and offer complete equipment packages for ship construction world-wide. The designs include vessels for the offshore market, passenger vessels, cruise vessels and yachts. Services also include CFD analyses, project management, site supervision, installation and commissioning as well as redesign for conversions and upgrades. The X-BOW is an example of one of the novel technologies invented. An add-on solution for the ship's stern, the X-STERN, was launched in 2014, and received the Next Generation Ship Award 2015.
Ulstein Design & Solutions BV
Ulstein Design & Solutions BV designs large offshore construction vessels. The company develops projects for operators, contractors and ship owners in the offshore drilling, renewables, construction and production market, as well as the maritime transport market. Future market trends and end user needs are the key drivers for developing and providing their new floating concepts to the offshore oil and gas industries and the offshore wind industry.
Ulstein Equipment B.V.
Ulstein Equipment develops and manufactures innovative mission and interface equipment for vessels, working mainly in markets such as heavy offshore, offshore wind and dredging.
Ulstein Poland LTD. SP. Z.O.O.
Ulstein Poland is a part of an engineering pool in Ulstein Group, and provides engineering services, as well as hull, outfitting and machinery documentation and on-site yard support.
Ulstein Power & Control AS
Ulstein Power & Control offers Services and retrofit of power packages and marine automation systems.
Ulstein Marine Equipment (Ningbo) Co. Ltd.
Ulstein Marine Equipment manufactures electrical components and systems for offshore vessels developed by ULSTEIN.
Ulstein Electrical Technology (Ningbo) Co. Ltd.
Ulstein Electrical Technology is engaged in technical consulting, installation, commissioning and after-sales service.
Ulstein Belga Marine LTDA
The former Belga Marine of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was acquired by Ulstein Group AS and renamed 'Ulstein Belga Marine It provides electrical and control systems for the large offshore and merchant market in Brazil.
Ulstein Marine Systems (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.
Ulstein Marine Systems is marketing ULSTEIN in China.
Ulstein Blue Ctrl AS
Ulstein Blue Ctrl develops and delivers future oriented and reliable marine automation and control systems. The X-CONNECT® platform is an excellent tool for system integrators, and the products built on this platform improve efficiency, operability and secures long-term value.
Ulstein International AS
Ulstein International develops, supports and facilitates international growth, with a focus on systems management and business development.
Ulstein designs
Ulstein A-Series
The Ulstein A-Series are anchor handling tug supply vessels. Noteworthy vessels are the Olympic Zeus and sister ship Olympic Hera. They are long and wide and has a bollard pull of. These are the largest anchor handling vessels of the A design by Ulstein Verft. The vessels innovate via a hybrid propulsion system where ships may switch between diesel-mechanical and diesel-electric propulsion or combine the two for maximal pull and optimum fuel efficiency. The ship has DP2, an ROV garage and accommodations for 68 persons. This feature allows major economic and environmental cost-savings benefits.
Ulstein P-Series
The Ulstein P-Series are platform supply vessels
Ulstein S-Series
The Ulstein S-Series are specialized vessels including, among others, offshore construction vessels, vessels for the renewable industry and multifunctional vessels.
Ulstein C-Series
The C-Series include vessels for passenger transport, such as expedition cruise vessels, cruise vessels and yachts.
Ulstein X-bow
The Ulstein X-bow, an inverted bow, introduces the gentle displacer, ship's bow a tapered fore ship shape with a different volume distribution as well as sectional angles, resulting in a wave piercing effect at small wave heights, and also reduces pitching and bow impact loads in bigger seas. The Bourbon Orca, design AX104 is an Ulstein A-Series Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessel, built for Bourbon Offshore Norway, and was the first ship built with the Ulstein X-bow in 2006. In 2007, the Bourbon Orca design model was included in the London Science Museum's display of innovative technology
