As major US maritime trade shows Cruise Shipping Miami and CMA kick off this week, Wilhelmsen Ships Service’s new VP for the Americas, Simon Hutt, said that it is time for WSS to put its’ ‘house in order’ and make good on its plans for growth across the Americas region.
Hutt, who was formerly Area Director for Southern Europe North and West Africa says: “ Times are tough, and we know that our customers are feeling the pressure. Staying compliant in the face of increasing regulation is a very real challenge as shipowners and operators strive to streamline operations and make every vessel more efficient. ”
“ Today’s customer wants to work with a partner who understands their aspirations and who can work with them on both a local and international level. Increasingly, ships service providers such as WSS need to ensure that the products and solutions on offer are standardised and truly global. ”
“ We are now working across the Americas region to ‘get our house in order’ and ensure that we can offer the same levels of service here that we already offer across the world. This requires investment in our people and the introduction of new products and solutions to ensure that we are meeting the demands of our customers. ”
For Hutt, strengthening of the WSS business across the region is not just about offering more products, but also about expanding and capitalising on regional opportunities. He says: “ The Americas region is huge and encompasses a wide range of different countries, from Argentina, Venezuela and Brazil across North America and into Canada. Our expansion programme is ambitious and takes into account the changing trading patterns of our customers. ”
“ There are enormous opportunities ahead and we are looking towards the huge potential of the offshore market, particularly in Brazil and Trinidad as well as the Gulf of Mexico. We are also looking at the dry bulk market and at growing our presence within the cruise market. ”
Despite a still-unclear economic outlook, Hutt is positive about the future and has a clear vision of where WSS is going across such a diverse region: “ I believe that we have all the foundations in place to successfully do business in the Americas and I am lucky to be joining an experienced team of people who are all the best at what they do. So many of our plans focus around the fact that no other ships service provider is as well connected as we are, no other service provider can deliver the technical expertise that WSS can and that, for me, is an extremely exciting prospect. ”
[mappress]
WSS, March 11, 2014