YOUR PROPULSION EXPERTS
Operated under the aegis of the CCCC Fourth Harbor Engineering Co., the Jiangmen Hangtong Shipbuilding and Shipping Company exemplifies the advancing capabilities of the Chinese shipbuilding industry. The key to success for the progressive company lies primarily in its focus on research and development.
With its long coastline, the Chinese city of Jiangmen is a prime hotspot for the shipbuilding industry in Guangdong Province. The city, whose name means ‘river gate’ in English, is home to around five million people. It is located west of the Pearl River and about 60 kilometres southwest of Guangdong’s capital, Guangzhou. Jiangmen’s Xinhui district is where one of the most advanced and versatile shipyards in the region is headquartered: the Jiangmen Hangtong Shipbuilding and Shipping Company (or simply “Hangtong”).
Founded in 1993, Hangtong is part of the CCCC Fourth Harbor Engineering Company Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the listed, state-owned China Communications Construction Company, Ltd. (CCCC). CCCC specializes in the design, construction and operation of infrastructure, such as motorways, airports and seaports. In 2016, CCCC was included in Fortune magazine’s Global 500, which annually ranks the world’s 500 largest companies by revenue. Within the group, Hangtong, with around 500 employees, is mainly focused on the design, construction and repair of ships. In addition, the company’s business activities constitute the manufacture and installation of steel structures, among them bridges and buildings, as well as electromechanical equipment for highways, ports, railway platforms and much more.
Hangtong’s shipbuilding portfolio is extremely broad. In addition to tugs, it includes a wide range of port and channel construction workboats, such as cement mixing vessels and piling barges. Cargo transport ships for various types of liquid goods like LPG, oil and chemicals also feature among Hangtong’s products – and that’s not all: a wide variety of offshore platform multi-purpose workboats, such as offshore service vessels, marine survey ships and multi-purpose marine workboats, round off the shipyard’s versatile range. In over 30 years, the company has built and delivered more than 300 vessels. Its customers come from all over the world – from Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe to the United States.
In order to perfectly cater for its broad portfolio, Hangtong has a modern 290,000-square-metre production facility at its headquarters. Built in 2006, it has a 465-metre slipway, a 700-metre berthing quay and several crane systems with lifting capacities ranging from 40 to 400 tonnes. In addition to state-of-the-art steel processing equipment, such as CNC cutting and punching machines, the site also houses project-supporting workshops, including several painting shops. With this equipment, the yard is capable of building eight to ten vessels simultaneously.
Hangtong has enjoyed a long and successful partnership with SCHOTTEL that now spans almost 20 years. Together, the companies have implemented numerous major projects, including ASD tugs, platform supply vessels (PSV), bunker ships and container vessels. “SCHOTTEL is our long-term partner and has always supported us with newbuilds and service,” explains Jiang Chuanjian, Marketing Manager at Hangtong and responsible for sales and procurement of key equipment. “Our customers benefit first and foremost from the high quality of SCHOTTEL propulsion units. In addition, we particularly appreciate the interpersonal aspect of our cooperation – both the respect that SCHOTTEL shows us and the regular visits to Jiangmen, which are also attended by representatives of the top management. For us, personal contact is of great importance for a long-term partnership.”
The shipyard is very familiar with the wide range of SCHOTTEL products and has been successfully using equipment such as the SCHOTTEL RudderPropeller or TransverseThruster for many years. Recent milestones in the cooperation include projects such as an ASD tug, a series of 7700 DWT bunker ships for methanol supply and a series of six small container ships for waste transport. One particular highlight are platform supply vessels, which are equipped with SCHOTTEL RudderPropellers. PSVs are used to provide logistical support to offshore oil and gas platforms and other such installations and to transport goods, tools, equipment and personnel to and from offshore sites.
Hangtong’s business strategy is always oriented towards future trends – a key success factor. The focus is on providing innovative solutions to the major challenges facing the shipbuilding industry: environmental protection and digitalization. Therefore, Hangtong continues to invest in research and development in order to offer its customers a modern and environmentally-friendly portfolio. Just recently, Hangtong established five innovative labs for shipbuilding and intelligent equipment manufacturing, as well as a smart electromechanical equipment engineering center. The company is also committed to implementing smart technologies in production, including investing in a green, automated assembly line for heavy steel structures. At Hangtong, the way has been paved for a successful future.
