Dutch oil and gas fabrication company Heerema Fabrication Group has announced that the company intends to divest a significant part of its activities in the field of design and fabrication of complex steel constructions for the offshore market as it has been struggling for some time with insufficient project volume and marginal profitability.
As a result of the divestment, Heerema intends to dispose of its activities at the locations in Zwijndrecht, Netherlands and Hartlepool in the UK.
HFG has signed a letter of intent for the sale of the Zwijndrecht yard with the Italian engineering and construction company Rosetti Marino while it is seeking a buyer for its activities at the yard in Hartlepool.
The activities at Heerema’s Vlissingen yard in the Netherlands and Opole yard in Poland will continue and remain focused on the construction of jackets for the offshore industry as well as acting as shore base for its sister company HMC.
The company anticipated that 60 jobs at the headquarters will be phased out.
“We are very much aware that the intended plans will have a deep impact on our staff at the head office in Zwijndrecht. We will be providing every support we can offer in this very difficult period,” said Koos-Jan Van Brouwershaven, CEO of Heerema Fabrication Group.
The divestment plan follows a restructuring of the company started in November 2016, which was baed on the expectation that the market would improve from 2019 onwards. However, Van Brouwershaven admit the restructuring wasn’t successful. “With the ongoing difficult market conditions there is not enough perspective for HFG to continue its activities with the current structure and head office organization,” Van Brouwershaven said.
