VIKING Life-Saving Equipment chooses inaugural DEFEA Athens as first live event to showcase consolidated high-performance boats, life-saving and safety solutions for the defense sector.
With order volumes from defense customers in Greece at their highest level for many years, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment is taking the first ‘real-life’ opportunity to present its consolidated portfolio of products and services to naval and military clients in an encouraging market.
The opportunity presents itself at DEFEA (Defence Exhibition Athens), a new international event running 13-15 July 2021 at the Metropolitan Expo Athens. The return of a ‘real life’ event comes at a time when the Ministry of Defence procurement in Greece is gathering momentum. It also coincides with high activity at VIKING NOR SAFE Life-Saving Hellas, the Danish company’s Greek subsidiary.
John Georgiadis, Managing Director, VIKING NOR SAFE Life-Saving Hellas, says that VIKING’s boat production at plants in Norway, Greece, and Asia has weathered COVID-19 challenges effectively. The first in the second batch of ambulance boats for the Hellenic Coastguard will leave its Athens plant at the end of July bound for the Sporades Islands. DEFEA will also provide a platform to introduce a new 14m fast patrol boat designed for a current tender.
In addition, the Athens event allows VIKING to highlight the June reopening of its training center in Lavrio and the lifting of travel restrictions on service engineers. Consolidated global service has been a key gain for clients following the 2018 acquisition of NOR SAFE by VIKING, he says.
With a customer base including navies, air-forces, special forces, coast guards and SAR, law enforcement, and harbor patrol, VIKING’s wider portfolio of life-saving equipment has also been turning heads in Greece, adds Søren Hansen, Senior Sales Manager Defence, VIKING Life-Saving Equipment. VIKING will bring its new SOLAS-approved PV9380 VIKING YouSafe Vanguard lifejacket to DEFEA, designed for its compatibility with other safety equipment. Another new life-saving product disclosure is being saved for the show itself, says Hansen.
“We are all very excited by the extraordinary successes being achieved on the high-performance boat side by John and his team within the region. Recent deliveries and trials have allowed us to give our customers a broader picture of our capabilities. We come to DEFEA ready to discuss the value-add of using our portfolio of SOLAS- and NATO ANEP 77-approved rafts, evacuation systems, PPE, lifejackets, and firefighting solutions. We think VIKING’s experience of supplying solutions under the Polar Code will also be of particular interest for the global defense clients.”
VIKING investments in cutting edge of the track and trace IT for asset management technologies will also be of special interest to potential defense customers, says Hansen.
“We’re working with our naval and civil clients on the best ways to manage their service and maintenance and on digital solutions to optimize equipment availability,” he says. “Having assets in place at the right time and place and in the right condition is critical for safety at sea. We’re investing in everything from NFC chips for lifejacket scanning to solutions that enable our enterprise resource planning to interact with that of our customers.
“As a global leader in maritime safety and life-saving equipment of over 60 years standing, VIKING is very accustomed to handling complex projects in the merchant sector involving multiple products and global servicing arrangements. We are delighted to bring the same complete solutions to our defense customers in the region”, says Søren Hansen.
About VIKING
VIKING Life-Saving Equipment is a global market leader in maritime and offshore safety. Headquartered in Denmark, the corporation manufactures, supplies, and services everything from chute and slide-based evacuation systems to liferafts, lifejackets, immersion suits, firefighting equipment, aviation safety gear, lifeboats, hooks, davits, and more. VIKING brings its customers all the elements needed to simplify safety, including the world’s broadest range of safety products and a highly efficient, worldwide servicing network. And it stands out in the ability to offer complete safety compliance solutions – all certified in accordance with the latest IMO, SOLAS, EU, and USCG requirements.
Known as VIKING Shipowner and Offshore Safety Agreements, these uniquely customizable solutions incorporate safety products, global servicing, exchange, single-source management, and financing in a variety of fixed-price structures. In 2018, VIKING acquired Norsafe, the Norwegian boatbuilder whose lifeboats are used throughout the world, adding further strength to an unmatched product and service offering in the global maritime safety industry.
Most recently, VIKING acquired Drew Marine’s FSR division, one of the world’s three largest providers of Marine Fire Service. Founded in 1960, the privately held corporation manufactures in Denmark, Norway, Bulgaria, Greece, China, and Thailand, and provides safety solutions in all significant markets and locations.
