8/9/2023
Uudenkaupungin Työvene is in the process of building a dredger, set for delivery to Poland. The steel vessel will be painted with Jotun coatings, provided by Nor-Maali. The primary product used for the painting is Jotacote Universal S120, which helps reduce VOC emissions.
Uudenkaupungin Työvene Oy specializes in the construction of boats and ships for professional use. They build high-quality marine vessels from both aluminium and steel. Their product range includes e.g. passenger transportation ferries, rescue vessels, patrol boats and catamarans. The company aims to become the Nordic leader within advanced marine projects and solutions, offering the most innovative small and medium-sized vessels. The CEO of Työvene is Juha Granqvist, and the company employs about 50 people.
Their shipyard has extensive quayside facilities, separate production facilities for aluminum and steel fabrication, spacious and well-equipped workshops for all required machining, outfitting, piping and carpenter work, as well as a paint shop for painting blocks and boats. The shipyard has a 400-meter outfitting quay and a 140-meter slipway, assisted by six shipyard cranes.
Uudenkaupungin Työvene Oy was founded on March 11, 1987. Originally located in the Orivo industrial area in Uusikaupunki, the company initially produced small aluminum workboats, typically under 15 meters in length. In 1993, Työvene acquired the Uusikaupunki shipyard´s premises and moved to its current location by the sea. This facilitated the construction of larger vessels, up to 140 meters in length. In 2019, a significant milestone was reached when a new generation of shipbuilders took the helm with a more pronounced intention to grow, both in size and in-market segments. This year, Baltic Workboats and Työvene Oy established a joint shipbuilding company Nordic Yards Group.
Työvene produces a wide variety of vessel types, each requiring its unique design. Although design coordination is managed by the company, actual design work is often outsourced. Eetu Lehtonen, the Production Manager, tells that customers sometimes provide specific specs for the vessel, but at other times, Työvene presents them pre-existing models. Though crafting entirely new blueprints is uncommon, custom adjustments are usually made into every vessel.
At present, Työvene is working on a project to build a trailing suction dredger hopper for the Polish Maritime Office in Gdynia, valued at approximately 20 million euros. The ship will be used by the Gdynia Maritime Office of Gdynia for maintenance tasks on the five metres deep main waterway from the Gulf of Gdansk through the Vistula Lagoon to the Elbląg River. Additionally, it will ensure the maintenance of the depth parameters in the smaller ports of the Vistula Lagoon, where depths can reach up to 18 metres.
“The specialty of the ship is its exceptionally low draft and low running height, allowing it to pass under bridges. Achieving stability demanded professional design. Given that no pre-existing concept for such a vessel was available, it necessitated an entirely fresh design”, explains Lehtonen. The design, developed in collaboration between Työvene and Dutch partners C-Job and Holland Marine Technologies, met and exceeded all the complex needs and requirements of the customer.
The ship is 60 meters long and 12 meters wide. A suction pipe extends from its side, reaching the seabed to collect sediment. Hoppers in the middle of the vessel store this dredged material for transport.
Uudenkaupungin Työvene is constructing a dredger.
For the dredger’s steel surfaces, the primary product used is Jotacote Universal S120 epoxy coating. This product is a two-component, polyamine cured coating based on Covallox technology. It’s also a solvent-free high build coating, with very low VOC emissions. Jotacote Universal S120 is used as a primer on the vessel’s bottom, boottop and topside areas and as a single coat on the hopper area.
“Given our focus on VOC emission control, Jotacote Universal S120 is an ideal coating choice for us”, says Lehtonen. “Regulations permit up to 25% of the paint volume we purchase to evaporate as VOC emissions. With this product, we can offset VOCs from certain areas where high solid or water-borne products aren’t feasible.” He further emphasizes Työvene’s aspiration to lead in production, incorporating eco-friendly surface treatments into their procedures.
Jotacote Universal S120 is a solvent-free primer with only 8 g/L VOC emissions. The paint follows the definition of solvent-free as stipulated by CEPE. Approximately 60 – 70% of paints supplied in shipbuilding are made up of epoxy universal primers. As a solvent-free epoxy universal primer, Jotacote Universal S120 creates the largest impact to VOC reduction in shipbuilding. Additionally, the risk of fire is considerably lower with a solvent-free product.
Jotacote Universal S120 is a solvent-free, PSPC approved single coat. It dramatically reduces time spent on block application of water ballast tanks by 43%.
In typical epoxy coatings, electromagnetic hydrogen bonds provide the required adhesion between epoxy coatings and steel plates. Covallox™ Technology strengthens the adhesion further with chemically fused covalent bonds that are 10 times stronger. Over time, water, which forms hydrogen bonds, will displace typical epoxy coatings and steel plates by replacing the hydrogen bonds between them. This would result in corrosion spreading underneath the coating. Water cannot displace the chemically fused covalent bonds from Jotun’s Covallox™ Technology, significantly reducing any risk of corrosion.
Lehtonen is optimistic about the company’s future. The markets for Työvene are not dependent on fleeting trends, which is why demand has remained stable, and there are already accumulated future orders. There will always be a need for the vessels produced by the company, and their demand is not swayed by economic fluctuations. Lehtonen sees a particular growth opportunity in the need for service vessels for wind farms, as the number of offshore wind farms is expected to increase.
Työvene, among other projects, outfits a two offshore patrol vessels for Finnish Border Guard in co-operation with Meyer Turku. Työvene builds the ships’ superstructures and also outfits and commissions the ships in close cooperation with Meyer Turku. The contract includes the delivery of two new Turva class multi-functional offshore patrol vessel. The first vessel will be completed in 2025 and the second in 2026.
