Anais Habbar, the vice president of DL Services – a company that works on galley designs with the majority of cruise lines – told Cruise Industry News that she’s expecting a busy year in 2021 due to new regulations and the resumption of cruising.
“We had some customers ask us to do some modernization and also with the new rules by the CDC, it’s optimistic for us also as they need to change some layouts and put (Plexiglass), and stuff like this. It’s good for us as a supplier because we’re going to be busy,” Habbar said.
Although the main office is located in Nantes, France, the company also has an office in Miami, where Habbar works. Usually, DL Services does 15 to 20 galley design projects a year, but in 2020 it did 12.
One project takes about three days to design, Habbar said, but overall the project can last through the entire duration of the ship’s construction. The time spent on each depends on whether the design is a newbuilding or a modernization service.
Apart from galley designs, the company also supplies spare parts and offers a web access solution called “Life Cycle System” that stores galleys’ and laundries’ entire inventories – through photographs, videos, layouts, and corresponding documents – in one place and facilitates forecasting budgets for equipment replacements.
Additionally, DL Services created an application called D-LOG, which allows checking accurate temperatures for refrigerating equipment through Bluetooth technology.
“(Using Life Cycle System) means that when we went onboard and made videos of the galleys … If they then need to change something, they can just watch the video and pause it. And for example, they may say ‘we may change these,’ and they’re then not obliged to go onboard and spend time traveling. We created this for them to get a better knowledge of the kitchen without going onboard,” Habbar explained.
The company does not install the equipment, it just designs and advises on choosing the company that will implement the design.
“We control by ourselves all detailed designs done by installation companies to check if they are done according to our specification,” Habbar said. “Also, cruise lines ask for our services to help them in case of warranties as an expert.”
In her opinion, DL Services is set apart from other companies by its customized approach to every customer.
“In French, we say ‘à la carte’ – it means that we really follow (our customers’) wishes. We want them to have their dream galley. I think that’s our strength and why our customers are willing to work with us,” she explained.
“We are an independent designer contractor dedicated to cruises, ferries, and cargos. Since we created this unique service, we are the only company to offer customized designs and have no competitors worldwide in this sector,” Habbar added.
