There's only 'One Balaena'

Seawork first-time exhibitor Balaena is aiming at even bigger growth in addition to the rapid expansion that has already transformed the company into a major UK ship repair and marine services group.

Founded by CEO Simon Gillett in 2019, Balaena initially focused on an innovative floating offshore platform, but the Covid-19 pandemic put the project on hold, prompting a move into shipbuilding and repair with the acquisition of Gibraltar-based Gibdock.

“We took Gibdock and within a couple of years doubled its revenue, tripled its profit and pointed it in the right direction,” Gillett told Maritime Journal.

The company has since expanded into ship repair, conversion, oil and gas, defence and newbuild, acquiring additional facilities including Padstow in Cornwall and, most recently, the APCL Group.

The APCL deal brought Cammell Laird in Birkenhead and A&P facilities at Falmouth and Tyne into the Balaena fold. The group now operates five sites, with 12 dry docks and around 2,000 employees.

Gillett says integrating the enlarged business is a priority, with a unified IT system introduced within weeks of the APCL acquisition. The group is also working towards common operating standards under its “One Balaena” approach.

The expanded footprint gives Balaena capacity to work across a broad range of vessels and projects, from smaller craft through to naval and auxiliary vessels. The company is also looking to increase its involvement in offshore wind, including plans for a £100m development at Falmouth.

Alternative fuels will remain an area of interest, although Gillett says Balaena intends to take a technology-neutral approach and respond to individual customer requirements. He also expects autonomous vessels to become increasingly significant.

Further acquisitions could follow as Balaena looks to build on its recent expansion.

“I’m not a patient man, and the time has come to hit the gas even harder now,” Gillett says.

The immediate challenge will be to integrate the enlarged group while converting its increased capacity and geographical reach into further work across the commercial, offshore and defence markets.

Read the full interview with Simon Gillett on Maritime Journal here.

Image; Simon Gillett in Falmouth - BBC Cornwall

Exhibitor; Balaena