MacGregor in 2021 – merchant market picked up, service business progressed

MacGregor’s orders received in 2021 were 652 million euros, and sales amounted to 553 million euros. The comparable operating profit decreased to -15 million euros. This was due to one-time cost overruns related to new product developments in offshore wind energy vessel projects during the last quarter.

The level of merchant ship contracting increased strongly in 2021, which had a positive impact on MacGregor's business. In the offshore sector, the amount of new vessel contracting remained at a low level. The focus of new offshore orders has shifted to vessels supporting wind energy.

“In the merchant market, there really has been a turn around. If we compare the 2021 situation to the situation some years back, we were approaching about 1,600 new merchant vessels being ordered in 2021,” says Leif Byström, President, MacGregor.

“This is a significant growth compared to earlier years and something that is really positive to see. This is also partly happening in the offshore wind sector – we saw a lot of positive activity during 2021 in the offshore energy market.”

MacGregor’s service business progressed in 2021, increasing by 3 percent from the previous year to 257 million euros in sales. During the Covid-19 pandemic, MacGregor has made an efficient transition to a combination of local and remote support in its services business.

“Even under the pandemic situation, our service personnel have been able to overcome it in many cases when it comes to, for instance, commissions where we cannot travel, they need to do it. We have been rather successful here, and I'm really happy for that.”

Numerous highlights during the year
On the merchant shipping side, MacGregor achieved several sustainability-related successes. These included the introduction of a range of next generation electric cranes that increase cargo loading and unloading efficiency, as well as reducing energy consumption.

Other sustainability-related advancements included new Cargo Boost contracts that were signed during the year, helping containership customers to increase carrying capacity and reduce emissions:

“Cargo Boost supports containership owners and operators very much as it helps them increase their carrying capacity, but also can help them reduce their emissions.”

In digital services, MacGregor continued its successful journey with the condition monitoring and predictive maintenance solution, OnWatch Scout. OnWatch Scout helps customers to maximise critical equipment availability and minimise unplanned downtime.

“Our customer support was able to continue strong, despite the challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic. Another one to mention is the footprint we are taking in Asia, especially on the development of the new joint venture in China,” notes Leif Byström.

As with every business activity around the world, MacGregor’s activities were affected by the continuing Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, with the dedication and hard work of MacGregor personnel, the expected levels of customer support were achieved throughout the year.

“We needed to adapt to the situation, we needed to deliver and make the necessary commissioning. When the travelling was not possible, we arranged the work to be done locally. However, with the support from our competence centres, we made that happen and were able fulfil our customers’ expectations, also with remote control, web cameras and everything,” says Leif Byström.

Supporting customers remained the driving force in 2021
MacGregor seeks to support its customers to achieve their sustainability targets through the adoption of new, technology-led solutions. It helps its customers to increase profitability through optimising operationally critical cargo and load handling system performance and efficiency.

“I think our duty is to help our customers create increased value on their side. I mean, we need to deliver equipment and solutions that can make them more profitable, not just in monetary profit terms but also from the sustainability point of view. We have very good examples on that one, Cargo Boost and so on. This is what brings us to be where we are.”