Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven (LWB) has given up its 97 year old administration building and moved to new premises elsewhere in the shipyard, according to a press release from the shipyard that specializes in conversions and repairs. Newbuildings have also been assembled at LWB in addition to stretch jobs.
The administration move has taken place in stages and the final phase from the old building at Brückenstrasse 25 to the yard’s new administrative center in Bückingstrasse – in the center of the yard property – took place last Thursday and Friday and completed the shipyards internal reorganization.
LWB Managing Director Carsten J.Haake (44) said the move was a big step forward to make the shipyard more compact. The old offices were in what used to be the laundry facility of the old Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL) shipping company. He added that the concentration of all project and administration departments under one roof would mean “even more efficiencies and optimal internal communications.”
Over the past five years, the design, costing and purchasing departments of LWB have already moved bit by bit out of the old buildings into the new facility, which is located between the yard’s two Kaiser docks. When the final move took place, only about 20 personnel in the finance, personnel and IT sectors were still working alongside managing directors Haake and Ruediger Pallentin in the ground floor offices of the red brick building on Brückenstrasse.
Haake admitted to “feeling a little sad at leaving this traditional building.” He recalled that Norddeutsche Lloyd began construction as early as 1914. The first part was completed in 1918/19 as a laundry for the NDL fleet. It was expanded between 1922 and 1928 “because its washing capacities could no longer keep pace with the laundry demands of the NDL fleet and the steamships Bremen and Europa.” Uniforms, bed and table linen were all washed and ironed there. After the end of the second world war, however, new NDL yard operational structures meant that the laundry was among facilities no longer required. The main building was converted into offices.
For 60 years the management, administration and project departments of the NDL shipyard, and later Hapag-Lloyd Werft, worked in the building. For the last 27 years, since 1984, it has been used by Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven, which managed to keep its independence after the collapse of the Bremer Vulkan Group in 1996. The address Brückenstrasse 25 in the Überseehafen will be retained and the North Gate entrance to the shipyard will remain in operation for delivery traffic, at least for the time being. The heart of Lloyd Werft however will in future “beat” in the central administration building in Bückingstrasse.
Along with the offices, a variety of conference rooms have also been created. For Haake there are many advantages compared to the old situation. Lloyd Werft currently has 430 employees, among them 40 apprentices and he stressed that “with a workforce of this size we are in a good position to face future demands”. Haake also sees sufficient space potential in the as-yet-undeveloped areas of building for future yard expansion.
