According to Murray, Glenair’s approach to business development in the marine industry must take into consideration the different roles played by  the owners, designers and builders of ships and drilling platforms: “It’s not enough to just target an individual shipyard, we’ll need to work the market via the owners and architects who are responsible for electrical system design decisions.  In Norway and Germany, numbers one and two in new ship design, there are several hundred companies designing electrical solutions for shipboard applications - applications where our conduit products, ruggedized fiber optic communications systems and anticorrosive composite accessories will do quite well - if we can get our foot in the door (or in this case, the hatch).”

     Ship building and retrofitting works in twenty-year cycles, with long periods of new ship construction followed by periods of refurbishment and repair. In each of the next 5 years, the world's major shipyards will produce over 100 new ships.  In Korea alone, new ship construction is a 4 billion dollar annual business, and $400 million of that annual total is electrical!
     In shipyards providing repair and maintenance services, the issue is not so much one of ownership or design, but fast turnaround.  With dock fees for large seagoing vessels averaging $20,000 per day, the fast delivery of repair parts is a must - and speed is a clear Glenair strength.
      The marine marketplace operates under requirements and standards similar to the Mil-Spec standards found in the aerospace industry.  They have many of the same needs for EMI/EMP protection, and other performance standards to protect shipboard communications and operations.  As you can well imagine, losing communications in the middle of an ocean is as critical for a ship as it is for a plane.  The market is a natural for the quality controlled products and services offered by Glenair.
     In many cases, aerospace design challenges are identical to those faced by ship and boat designers, especially those designing for high performance applications such as fast ferries or oil rigs. These design challenges include:

• Extending the lifetime of electrical connectors, enclosures, junction boxes, transitions and fittings through the use of more durable (anticorrosive) composite thermoplastics.
• Reducing the total weight of ships by replacing brass, stainless steel and aluminum connectors with lighter weight composite thermoplastic connectors.
• Improving the protective capabilities while reducing the weight, of cable conduit and braided-metal cable shielding through the introduction of exotic plastic and hybrid metal-core plastic conduit systems.
• Reducing above-deck weight by replacing brass, stainless steel and aluminum connector accessories and enclosures which provide EMI/EMP shielding and cable strain-relief with lighter weight composite thermoplastics.
• Improving the reliability, weight and bandwidth of communications cabling through the use of optical fibers in place of traditional copper wire.

     As we said, Glenair has already enjoyed considerable success in the marine marketplace with its line of Geo-Marine^® Harsh Environment Cable Harnesses and Connectors; products used in oil and gas drilling, seabed exploration and pipeline inspection systems.  Using materials such as nickel aluminum bronze and stainless steel, and insulators such as glass and thermoplastic, these connectors are designed to withstand pressures up to 5,000 PSI and exposure to temperature extremes and corrosive chemicals - ideal capabilities for commercial marine applications.
     Plastic convoluted tubing, used throughout both ships and planes as a durable, light weight enclosure for wiring systems, is another marine industry growth product for Glenair.  From hostile applications involving above-deck shipboard use, cranes and heavy machinery to drilling and other deep sea applications, our convoluted tubing and metal core conduit wiring enclosures can fulfill a broad range of functions in the maritime market.
     As a data transfer technology, optical fiber is known for its outstanding speed and bandwidth capabilities and for its ability to provide reliable communication signals in systems which are subject to large amounts of electromagnetic radiation, such as fork lifts and cranes.  Many of the fiber optic connectors,  termini, and cable systems designed and produced for aircraft use, are built to standards acceptable for ship board use in areas such as dockyard ship-to-shore communications.

Fast Ferries and other “weight-sensitive” marine applications promise new market opportunities for Glenair.
 

     Fiber optic solutions developed by Glenair are already being employed in high-speed magnetic levitation trains, in scientific laboratory hardware, in computerized industrial equipment and in various  other applications where weight savings and faultless communications are required. The marine market is an obvious next target in the growth of this product line, due to the growing sophistication of ship board electronics, and the industry's requirements for quality and performance.
     Perhaps no other single area carries such potential for technology  “crossover”  between aerospace and sea as composite thermoplastics. Newly popular in both the aerospace and marine industries, the weight savings and corrosion protection provided by composites has already led to many radical changes in ship design and construction. 
     In the aerospace industry, electrical connectors and accessories are conventionally constructed from brass, nickel aluminum bronze, aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium.  This range of metals is now evolving to include composite thermoplastics as a major alternative material.

     The anticorrosive properties of the material also contribute to cost-of-ownership savings in reduced maintenance and repair.  When used in exposed applications, composites offer improved EMI and RFI protection over alternative metal components.
     Unlike industries such as automotives or computers, where inexpensive mass-produced electronics are common, the marine industry closely mirrors aerospace in terms of its requirements for rigidly controlled quality and service. Both industries depend on fast turn around on repair part orders, and (global) technical service and support. Glenair is fully prepared to provide service-levels acceptable to the marine industry based on our years of experience servicing equally demanding customers in the aerospace industry.  It is left to the ship designers and builders to take advantage of the years of research and development in aerospace applications to advance electronic system designs for the next-generation of ships and boats.
     For more information, or for assistance on pursuing opportunities in the marine industry, contact Lloyd Murray at 407-282-7420.

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