THE REGIONAL AIRPORT OF NORTH-HOLLAND-NORTH

AirmailNewsletter

JUNE 2015

VOLUME18

EDITION20

North Sea Offshore a successful event

Den Helder Airport and Port of Den Helder jointly facilitate the logistic offshore hub in Den Helder

Alderman of Economic Affairs Pieter Kos:

Together they share a story

INCLUDE IN THIS EDITION:

Vanessa Drost:

“I m part of a great team”

2

Den Helder Airport

NEWSLETTER DEN HELDER AIRPORT

ForewordIn front of you is Airmail, the renewed newsletter of

Den Helder Airport. With a modernized appearance and

familiar items we inform you about the developments in

and around the airport. This newsletter is largely devoted

to our cooperation with Port of Den Helder. Aside from

the main article, in which Port Director Piet-Hein Kolff

and the undersigned provide you with more detailed

information about our special collaboration, alderman

for Economic Affairs Pieter Kos gives us his views and

outlines the plans of the municipality of Den Helder for

the further growth of the offshore industry in Den Helder.

This newsletter also features the experiences of two

women who work at Den Helder Airport. Jolanda Visser,

Base and Accountable Manager at CHC Helicopters

Netherlands, talks about her work at this helicopter

operator. Vanessa Drost, who was recently appointed

for the SAR department of Noordzee Helikopters

Vlaanderen (NHV), does the same. Brief attention is also

devoted to the renovation of hard standings 7, 8 and 9

and to the North Sea Offshore entrepreneurs event.

Looking back, we see that 22,850 flight movements by

major traffic were conducted in 2014 and an increase

to 27,000 is a clear possibility. We transported 147,047

passengers last year. The thirty companies established

on the premises of Den Helder Airport currently offer

employment to some 500 people. These are figures we

can all be proud of.

A number of new developments are also discussed in

this edition. For example, as in 2014, Den Helder Airport

will be participating at the Offshore Energy exhibition,

which will be held on 13 and 14 October in the RAI

complex in Amsterdam. Once again, we will be present

together with Port of Den Helder and a large number of

other companies from the region. I would like to invite

you to visit the Den Helder Pavilion (number 11.054, hall

11). We would be delighted to send you a card entitling

you to visit the exhibition free of charge.

If you would like more information about our company

after reading this newsletter, I cordially invite you to

arrange a visit to Den Helder Airport. Obviously all of

the information and news will also be published on our

website: www.denhelderairport.nl.

Conny van den Hoff

Managing Director

www.facebook.com/denhelderairport

@DHAirport

Luchthavenweg 10A, 1786 PP Den Helder

Telephone: +31 (0)223 63 56 66

Internet: www.denhelderairport.nl

E-mail: info@denhelderairport.nl

In March of this year, the Port of Den Helder

and Den Helder Airport were present at the

international EWEA Offshore wind energy

conference in Copenhagen with a joint stand.

Conny van den Hoff: “We quickly realised that

the visitors were pleasantly surprised by the

unique airport/seaport combination and that

we mutually reinforce each other on many

fronts. Especially since together we can offer

a complete logistics service package to both

the oil and gas industry and the offshore wind

energy sector. We can also provide a complete

education and training package for both sectors

in Den Helder.” Piet-Hein Kolff: “Furthermore,

we have been able to show that there is

still plenty of room for new developments

both in the seaport and in and around the

airport.” According to Conny van den Hoff, the

collaboration that has taken place will certainly

be continued. Piet-Hein Kolff: “Later this year,

Port of Den Helder and Den Helder Airport

will also share a stand at the international trade

fair ‘Offshore Energy’ in Amsterdam. Together

with a large number of offshore companies

from North Holland North and the Royal

Netherlands Navy, the objective is to provide

a comprehensive Den Helder presentation.

Furthermore, attendance at the trade fair

‘Offshore Europe’, to be held in September

in Aberdeen, is still under consideration. The

focus will be on bringing in new business and

providing new services to both the oil and gas

industry and the rapidly growing offshore wind

energy sector. Piet-Hein Kolff: “Many wind farms

in the English sector of the North Sea are easy

to reach by sea and air from Den Helder. In the

meantime, all interested parties that would like

to do so from Den Helder have applied. But the

activities surrounding the lifetime extension of

the older oil and gas production platforms are

also interesting for us.”

Relief crews A good example in which the seaport/airport

combination plays an important role is the

deployment of the Kroonborg by Shell and

subsidiary NAM. This offshore support vessel

that was recently put into service resembles a

supply vessel, but is actually a so-called Walk-

to-Work (W2W) ship that is designed to carry

out maintenance work on unmanned platforms

of both companies in the southern section of

the North Sea. There is accommodation for

60 maintenance technicians on board. The

Den Helder Airport and Port of Den Helder jointly facilitate the logistic offshore hub in Den HelderBoth in the Netherlands and abroad, they have been working together for some time to draw

attention to the exceptionally strong combination of the open seaport and regional airport of

Den Helder as a leading logistics service centre. Not only as an ideal location for companies

working in the oil and gas industry, but also as a base for the activities in the offshore wind energy

sector and recently the tidal energy sector. During an interview, Airport Director Conny van den

Hoff and Seaport Director Piet-Hein Kolff share their initial experiences and further plans.

The Kroonborg moored in the port of Den Helder. (Photo: Port of Den Helder)

3

Den Helder Airport

NEWSLETTERDEN HELDER AIRPORT

COLOPHON

The Den Helder Airport

Newsletter is distributed in a

broad circulation and is meant

to inform interested parties

about the activities at and

around Den Helder Airport.

Reproducing of parts of the

content is only authorized

with source indication.

The content has been

compiled at information.

No rights can be drawn

upon the content in fact.

Den Helder Airport

Luchthavenweg 10A

1786 PP Den Helder

Telephone: +31 (0)223 635666

www.denhelderairport.nl

info@denhelderairport.nl

Editor

PAS Publicaties

Postbox 47

1760 AA Anna Paulowna

Editorial staff

Paul Schaap

Conny van den Hoff

Debbie IJlstra

Yvonne Rouwhorst

Production

PAS Publicaties,

Anna Paulowna

Creator and print

Burghout Design & Druk

——————— ————————————— advertisement ——————————————————

Airport Director Conny van den Hoff and Seaport Director Piet-Hein Kolff work a lot together to enhance Den Helder’s

position as the logistic offshore hub.

Kroonborg is equipped with an Ampelmann,

a heave compensated telescopic gangway

that enables maintenance staff to cross over

safely from a moving ship to an offshore

platform. The ship is also equipped with a heave

compensated crane. Conny van den Hoff: “Part

of the maintenance staff comes from England.

Every two weeks on a Thursday, a Dornier 328

from Loganair, under the Flybe banner, flies

from Norwich to Den Helder. Each time, this

plane brings 18 maintenance people for the

Kroonborg who relieve as many colleagues in

Den Helder and who, in turn, are flown back

to England. The Kroonborg moors every other

week on the Nieuwediepkade in Den Helder

for the crew change.” This method of relieving

crews is not entirely new. It has occurred

before, although more sporadically, with crews

from seismic survey vessels and drilling rigs.

New developmentsConny van den Hoff has this to say about

the new developments that both companies

intend to stimulate together: “In 2014, the

number of flight movements performed is

22,850 and a further growth to 27,000 is a clear

possibility. There is still room available at Den

Helder Airport for airport-related businesses.

These include, among others, aviation and

maintenance companies, but the design of a

centre for spare parts is also an option. The plan

is also to develop a short-stay facility. For non-

airport-related businesses, the nearby Kooypunt

business estate offers ample office space.

Phase 3 is currently being developed here.”

According to Piet-Hein Kolff, sufficient

space is still available for new developments

in and around the seaport. “Very soon

we will get to work at the site where the

Vaarwegmarkeringsdienst is still located. A new

business estate with some 300 metres of quay

space will be constructed here. Furthermore,

we would like to start this year on the

Buitenveld grounds behind the Nieuwediepkade

and the Paleiskade will be extended further.

The further construction of the Kooyhaven, just

south of Den Helder along the North Holland

Canal, is still to come. And discussions are

underway with the Royal Netherlands Navy on

whether additional space for civilian companies

will become available in the naval port through

joint use of port and quay facilities. In short,

both Den Helder Airport and Port of Den Helder

have a lot to offer the oil and gas industry

and the offshore wind energy sector and we

would like to broadly promote that together.”

Rare birdRecently, on Thursdays every other week, a rare bird descends on Den

Helder Airport. It is a Dornier 328 passenger plane. On 30 April we were

surprised by a colourful version of this aircraft. This bright purple-coloured

Dornier 328 has the name Spirit of Norwich. Airline Loganair continually

transfers 18 maintenance people from Norwich, England to Den Helder,

where they relieve on board the offshore support vessel Kroonborg

eighteen colleagues who later return to England with the Dornier 328.

Operators NAM/Shell use the Kroonborg to conduct maintenance work

on small offshore platforms in the southern section of the North Sea.

The Scottish airline Loganair is a franchise partner of Flybe, which has five

Dornier 328 aircraft in its fleet. Aircraft manufacturer Fairchild-Dornier has

delivered more than 200 of these aircraft since 1993.

4

Den Helder Airport

NEWSLETTER DEN HELDER AIRPORT

Vanessa came to work at this department on

26 January 2015. Her official job title is SAR

Operations Assistant. “The new SAR contract

that NHV officially signed with the government

comes into effect as of 1 July of this year. This

contract has a five-year term. There are also

two options for a one-year extension. The

office organisation must be solid as a rock on

that date. But that should be possible with my

experience in the field of Human Resources

(HR).” NHV’s entire SAR operation in the

Netherlands consists of four Dauphin AS365N

helicopters, two of which are stationed at Den

Helder Airport and two at a location at the

Pistoolhaven in Rotterdam. The latter two are

deployed in the southern part of the coastal

region, while the helicopters at Den Helder

Airport are responsible for the northern part.

NHV now has the necessary SAR experience

since this kind of activity has been carried out for

the Dutch government since early 2014. Under

the supervision of the Coast Guard, nearly 100

actions, including 45 medical evacuations,

were performed in 2014. Vanessa: “We have

five crews to man the rescue helicopters. And

every crew consists of a captain, a co-pilot, a

hoist operator, a rescue swimmer and a medic.”

New helicoptersOther news from NHV includes the use of

two brand-new EC175 offshore helicopters at

Den Helder Airport. Vanessa explains: “NHV

ordered sixteen of these new helicopters that

have been specially designed for offshore

operations. The design takes the needs and

experiences of oil companies and helicopter

operators into account. They are flown by two

pilots and can carry sixteen passengers. We

have had the first two EC175 helicopters built

by Airbus Helicopters here since December

2014. That makes NHV the global ‘launching

customer’ of this brand-new type. We fly them

for Wintershall Noordzee and they amply

meet our expectations.” This year, Airbus

Helicopters will be delivering six more of these

helicopters to NHV and the last eight will

follow between 2016 and 2018. “Up until 21

April of this year, 441 flights had already been

made with these two EC175 helicopters. This

is equivalent to some 600 flight hours and the

transport of more than 6,000 passengers.”

Major acquisitionIn December 2014, NHV announced the

acquisition of the Blueway Group, including

DanCopter, which also operates from Den

Helder Airport, Blueway Offshore Europe,

Airlift and Vertech Offshore. This makes NHV

one of the largest helicopter operators, with

a presence in every oil and gas-producing

country around the North Sea. The fleet is

currently comprised of 59 helicopters. The

annual turnover is 270 million dollars. The

company, with its headquarters in the Belgian

city of Oostende, employs 650 people. “At Den

Helder Airport, our company employs some

65 people, divided over the SAR and Oil & Gas

departments. I m the only woman who works

at the SAR department. NHV is a wonderful

company and I m part of a great team. That s

why I enjoy going to work every day.”

VANESSA DROST:

“I m part of a great team”She already had her maiden flight. Suspended on the hoist of an SAR helicopter during

demonstrations given at various locations for the National Rescue Boat Day on Saturday, 2 May.

But normally speaking, Vanessa Drost stays on the ground and, as assistant to the Base Manager,

is engaged in setting up the office organisation for the Search and Rescue (SAR) department of

Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) at Den Helder Airport.

Vanessa Drost is engaged in setting up

NHV s SAR office organisation.

Arrival of the first two brand-new EC175

helicopters at Den Helder Airport.

(Photo: Tom van Oossanen)

The international entrepreneurs’ event North

Sea Offshore that was held for the first time

on Thursday, 4 June in Den Helder was a big

success. The event, which was organised partly

on the initiative of Den Helder Airport, was

attended by more than 250 people.

The morning program included visits to various

companies from the region. Participants

could become better acquainted with ‘deep

sea mining’ at the Royal Netherlands Institute

for Sea Research (NIOZ) on Texel, attend a

seminar on ‘windfarm logistics’ at the Asset

Management Control Centre in Den Helder

or take a guided tour to learn more about all

the activities that are being developed at Den

Helder Airport and the Port of Den Helder. The

afternoon program started in the Dukdalf, on

the former Rijkswerf Willemsoord, with a stylish

network lunch. Directly afterwards, Ante Frens,

Asset Manager Offshore at the NAM and Eric

Wesselman, Management Consultant Oil and

Gas at KPMG, gave a presentation. All of this was

chaired by Stephan Morsink. Top entrepreneur

Annemarie van Gaal gave the audience a lecture

on entrepreneurship. The event closed with a

networking reception. North Sea Offshore is an

initiative of Ontwikkelingsbedrijf Noord-Holland

Noord N.V.(NHN), the Port of Den Helder, Den

Helder Airport, and Harbour and Shipping

Association Den Helder (HSV). The event is

supported by the offshore trade associations

IRO and NOGEPA, North Netherlands Offshore

Wind (NNOW), and the Dutch Wind Energy

Association (NWEA). Given the success of this

first edition, the organisers intend to make this

international event into an annual tradition on

the first Thursday of June.

North Sea Offshore a successful event

5

Den Helder Airport

NEWSLETTERDEN HELDER AIRPORT

Alderman Pieter Kos sees port development

and urban renewal as priorities in municipal

policy. Therefore, he is extremely pleased that

Den Helder Airport and Port of Den Helder

are working together to draw attention to

Den Helder as the offshore logistics service

centre (hub). “The joint presentation at the

international exhibition EWEA Offshore

in Copenhagen is a good example. An

important aspect was establishing contacts

with companies that expressed an interest in

locating in Den Helder or that would like to

develop activities from here. Naturally, when

these companies actually come to visit our city,

they are more than welcome at Den Helder

Airport and Port of Den Helder, but personally

I see it as my humble duty to welcome them

on behalf of the municipal authorities and

to tell them that we truly appreciate their

interest in our offshore logistics hub. I will

also remind them that Den Helder is a nice

place to live and enjoy recreational activities.

Later this year, Den Helder Airport and Port

of Den Helder will jointly present themselves

at the ‘Offshore Energy’ exhibition to be held

on 13 and 14 October in Amsterdam.”

Reliable partnerIn recent years many stories have been

circulating about the plans for the future

development of Den Helder. According to

Pieter Kos, that period of storytelling has

now ended. “If you want to come across as

a reliable partner, you have to achieve these

plans. And that is exactly what we are doing.

A good example is the proposed construction

of the regional port-related business estate

Kooyhaven. The municipal councils of both

Den Helder and the neighbouring municipality

of Hollands Kroon have adopted the zoning

plan for that. As it now stands, construction

will start before the end of the year. And that s

not all. We re also making progress at other

locations. For example, the development of

the south side of Den Helder Airport is on the

agenda, and a steering committee under the

leadership of the Province of North Holland

has been created for that. The municipality

is also working on the deep sea port. The

location of the Ministry of Infrastructure

and the Environment (Rijkswaterstaat),

where the Vaarwegmarkeringsdienst is still

situated, will be developed into a business

park. A 300-metre long quay will also be

constructed there. The Buitenveld area

behind the Nieuwediepkade will also be

developed and we are taking the opportunity

to extend the already existing Paleiskade.

All these important projects that have been

under discussion for a long time will actually

be carried out now. And we are not only

looking for sites to establish new companies

but we would also like to provide services to

companies that are already established there.

Such as logistics service provider Peterson, a

company that is very important for our city.”

SummitTo pick up the pace, a summit is regularly held

between the Royal Netherlands Navy, the

Province of North Holland and the Municipality

of Den Helder. “We keep each other on our

toes so we can actually achieve something

instead of just talking about it. We have also

taken the initiative to bring together the top

echelon from various ministries that have land

holdings and real estate in their portfolios.

After several consultations in The Hague, a

visit to Den Helder was recently made to give

people the opportunity to become acquainted

with the local situation and our ideas. Visits

were made not only to the city but also to

Den Helder Airport, the harbour and the

Naval Maintenance Company. We expect that

this will have a lasting positive effect on the

decision-making of our plans and projects. In

short, we are doing everything possible both

at the seaport and the airport to accelerate the

pace of the implementation of our projects

so that our ambassadors can widely report

about them together where necessary.”

ALDERMAN OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS PIETER KOS:

Together they share a storyThe collaboration between Den Helder Airport and the Port of Den Helder is starting to pay

off, according to Pieter Kos, Alderman of Economic Affairs in Den Helder. The strength of this

partnership is that a clear story is told about the unique and comprehensive range of logistic

services the two ports can provide for the oil and gas industry and the wind energy sector.

———————— ————————————————————— advertisement ———————————————— ————————————

Alderman of Economic Affairs Pieter Kos of

Den Helder: “We would like to speed up the

realisation of our plans.” (Photo: Peter van Aalst)

6

Den Helder Airport

NEWSLETTER DEN HELDER AIRPORT

Jolanda Visser has been working in aviation for

more than 17 years. KLM was her first employer.

According to Jolanda: “After having worked at

KLM for ten years as HR Manager for the Boeing

737 fleet and a short break in the publishing

world, I went to work as Interim HR Manager at

Transavia, a subsidiary of KLM. It was here that

I first came into contact with CHC Helicopters

Netherlands, when they asked me if I would

substitute for the former HR Manager who was

on pregnancy leave and conduct the Collective

Labour Agreement negotiations with the unions.”

But Jolanda never left. “After starting as HR

Manager exclusively for the base in Den Helder,

my job quickly expanded to HR Manager for

the Netherlands, Africa and Eurasia. I was also

able to maintain ongoing relationships with the

various trade unions regarding the Collective

Labour Agreement negotiations. After enjoying

this work for a number of years, I was appointed

to my current position as Base and Accountable

Manager in 2013. It is an exciting, highly diverse

job with lots of challenges.” As Base Manager

she is responsible for 180 employees who, as

a close-knit team (she refers to it a ‘well-oiled

machine’), ensure the safe transfer of passengers

to and from platforms offshore. “Safety is our

top priority. Everyone knows that collaboration

is the most important element in generating

a high degree of reliability and that gives us

the opportunity to go the extra mile for the

customer.” Jolanda also maintains contacts with

the customers and, as Accountable Manager,

with governments as well. In our country, CHC

Helicopter Netherlands is the largest helicopter

operator that has an Air

Operator Certificate with

four accreditations.

ConsortiumWith a staff of 180, CHC

Helicopters Netherlands

is one of the major

employers at Den Helder

Airport. The company

has a fleet of eleven

helicopters, soon to

be twelve. “Our fleet is

currently composed of

eight AW139 helicopters,

two EC155 helicopters and

one S-92 helicopter.” The

S-92, which can transport

eighteen passengers, is

the largest. The EC155

can take ten passengers

and the AW139, by far

the favourite among

our customers, can take

twelve. The manufacturer,

Augusta Westland, has sold

850 of these helicopters.

Starting on 1 July of this

year, we will be flying with

two AW139 helicopters for

Shell/NAM.” Jolanda has

this to say about the other

customers: “For some

time now, we have been

flying for a consortium

JOLANDA VISSER:

Infected with the aviation virus She was going to work as the Interim Human Resources Manager for four months in 2010 but Jolanda Visser has now been working at CHC

Helicopters Netherlands at Den Helder Airport, currently as Base Manager and Accountable Manager, for almost five years. She compares

working in aviation with contracting a virus that does not go away.

Base and Accountable Manager Jolanda Visser: “Safety is our top priority.”

Luchthavenweg 181786 PP Den HelderTel. : +31(0)223 677555Internet: www.chc.caE-mail: netherlands@chc.ca

General Manager: ++31 (0)223-677571

——————— ————————————— advertisement ———————————————————

7

Den Helder Airport

NEWSLETTERDEN HELDER AIRPORT

• Den Helder Airport will continue to offer

financial support to the Den Helder theatre

De Kampanje in the coming years. Airport

Director Conny van den Hoff, together with

Theatre Director Jan Fokkinga, signed a new

three-year sponsor contract on Tuesday,

24 March. As is the case now, Den Helder

Airport will continue to connect its name to

the theatre after it moves to its new location

on the Willemsoord complex in Den Helder.

• Once again this year, Den Helder Airport,

together with Port of Den Helder, participated

in ‘Carrières aan Zee’ (Careers at Sea). This

maritime career fair, held at the Willemsoord

complex in Den Helder, is designed to

boost enthusiasm in the technical and naval

professions among youth. This time, 3,500

young people from the northern provinces

of the Netherlands visited the fair.

• At the end of 2014, a new camera system

was installed at Den Helder Airport and the

adjacent business park Kooypunt. This system

should enhance safety at these locations and

register ‘unwanted visitors’. The cameras have

been positioned at six different locations.

Three of them, at the access routes, are also

equipped with number license registration.

• On17November2014atDenHelderAirport,

CHC Helicopters Netherlands demonstrated

the new AW189 Agusta Westland helicopter

to its customers in the offshore sector.

Sixteen passengers can be transported with

this new helicopter, four more than with the

slightly smaller AW139.

• The Defence Helicopter Command has

received authorisation to carry out military

exercises with the NH90 helicopter from

Tuesday, 19 May to Friday, 11 September. The

military flights will take place from dusk until

1 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays in weeks 21,

23, 29, 35 and 37. In case of disturbance,

complaints can be submitted via telephone

+31 (0)161 - 296 200.

After extensive renovation, the three oldest

aircraft hard standings were officially put into

use again on Thursday, 23 April. Construction

company Ballast Nedam worked hard for six

weeks to recycle the old asphalt from hard

standings 7, 8 and 9 and reuse it in a durable,

low-maintenance platform. The renovated

surface consists of seamless, non-permeable

concrete, surrounded by new asphalt. The

entire platform has new marker lines and once

again meets the very

latest requirements.

Fred Louter, Manager

Operations of Ballast

Nedam, and Airport

Director Conny van

den Hoff each gave

a short speech when

the hard standings

were put into service

and the Ballast

Nedam staff was

treated to a festive

cake. Bert van de Wijgerd of CHC Helicopters

Netherlands was also put in the limelight by

Conny van den Hoff for his dedication and

support during this project.

Oldest hard standings like new again

of five companies (Total, Dana, Taqa, Petrogas

and Centrica) through the Helicopter Share

Model. GDF SUEZ is also a highly valued

customer. Last November, CHC presented a

new type of helicopter to its customers. “At

that time, we made a number of demo flights

with the new AW189, which is slightly larger

and wider than the AW139. The new type

can carry sixteen passengers. The wishes of

the users were taken into account during its

development.” And in early 2015, the company

had another special event. “We were the first

helicopter operator in the world to achieve

a milestone of 10,000 flight hours with an

AW139. We received an award for this from the

manufacturer, Agusta Westland, which we have

proudly displayed in the hangar. This gave us

cause for celebration with a small party.” In the

meantime, CHC at Den Helder Airport has also

reached this milestone with a second AW139.

Personnel management“With regard to attracting new staff, our motto

is to hire as many employees as possible from

our own region. We regard ourselves as a local

company and we see that there is sufficient

talent in the vicinity to meet our needs. And

we love the no-nonsense mentality in North

Holland. We also have a training program

for technical people or engineers. Our

maintenance department usually has two or

three interns, mainly from the Regional Training

Centres (ROCs). Very recently, in cooperation

with Lufthansa and Western North Sea, we

started training people who have the technical

capabilities but have not yet learned the skills. A

prerequisite is that they are willing to work for 6

months in Aberdeen or on other bases to gain

experience. By the way, early this year we gave

a phased-out S-76 helicopter to the ROC in

Hoofddorp as a training device. It is now used

to train engineers and sheet metal workers.”

To close, Jolanda Visser has this to say about

the company culture: “We apply the ‘ just safety

culture’ by encouraging our staff to share the

mistakes they have made with others so we can

all learn something from them. Incidentally, this

sharing takes place on a global level. In recent

years, we have also worked hard to contribute to

a new technical system that is used around the

world. The same also applies for the rostering

system for pilots. So my work is full of challenges

and once you are contaminated with the

aviation virus like I am there is no going back.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

Former director Roel Hijmans and current

director Conny van den Hoff christen the

renovated platform

The new renovated platform

The new sponsorship contract was signed

(Photo : Peter van Aalst)

FABRICOM

OFFSHORE

SERVICES:

a company with a mission

8

Den Helder Airport

NEWSLETTER DEN HELDER AIRPORT

Marc Bruin has been Contract Manager of

Fabricom Offshore Services at Den Helder

Airport since 1 April 2014. He is responsible for

the Operations & Maintenance department,

a team of more than 100 colleagues, the vast

majority of whom work offshore. It is a job with

a lot of variety and the added advantage that he

works close to home.

After Marc Bruin served for eighteen years as

an engineer with the Royal Netherlands Navy,

he decided in 2001 to look for a job on land

so he could spend more time with his family.

After working the first two years for Unishore

in Den Helder, he joined Fabricom. “At this

company, I started at the bottom of the ladder

again, as a mechanic. I did maintenance work

on the platforms of Total E&P Nederland in the

Dutch sector of the North Sea. I enjoyed the

work and it was a good learning experience.

I also had the opportunity to work my way

up: from senior mechanic, team leader to

contract site representative. As contract site

representative, I served as the contact between

Fabricom and the customer. Our company

has had a contract with Total E&P Nederland

since 1 January 2002 to perform the necessary

maintenance work on its offshore platforms.

This is done by a team of mechanics and

engineers who are engaged in electrical

engineering and instrumentation (E&I). After my

work experience as contract site representative,

I could temporarily fill in as contract manager.”

New position

This job as contract manager would take nine

months. He used this time to do a management

study. Then he went back to sea. But apparently

Marc left a good impression as team leader

since he was asked by Fabricom on 1 April 2014

to work at the office at Den Helder Airport as

contract manager on a permanent basis. He

has this to say about his current responsibilities:

“My most important task is to manage

Fabricom s general maintenance contract

with Total E&P Nederland. I am responsible

for the financial part, the budgets and the staff

planning. I also make sure that all the conditions

of the maintenance contract are met.”

When asked how many Fabricom employees

work on this contact, Marc says: “About

twenty at our customer s main office in The

Hague. This includes senior trade engineers,

trade engineers, planning engineers and

administrative support staff. There are also a

number of employees at the Total warehouse

in Den Helder and about 100 technicians

offshore. This last group is two weeks on,

three weeks off. To stay in contact with them,

I visit my colleagues in The Hague every

Monday. Once a month I go offshore for a day

and visit various platforms. I usually combine

this with a safety meeting that our customer

holds on that day at one of its platforms.

Multiple users

At Den Helder Airport, Fabricom Offshore

Services operates from the building that was

once constructed by Elf Petroland in the shape

of its logo. This is particularly visible from the

air. After the merger between Elf Petroland and

Total E&P Nederland in 2003, the company

decided in 2007 to move all the activities that

were developed at Den Helder Airport to its

head office in The Hague. Consequently, the

characteristic building became empty until

Fabricom Offshore Services decided to rent it in

2011. This company is not the only user. “Cofely

GDF SUEZ has rented space on the ground

floor at the back of the building. This company

is among others active in the utility sector for

the Royal Netherlands Navy. On the top (3rd)

floor is Swift Drilling, which does drilling work

with the jack-up rig Swift 10 in the southern

part of the North Sea for various clients.”

All these users are part of the GDF SUEZ Group.

Aside from Total E&P Nederland, Fabricom

Offshore Services has maintenance contracts

with several other operators working in the

Dutch sector of the North Sea. The company

also operates in the offshore wind energy

sector. Forty Fabricom colleagues currently

work at the office at Den Helder Airport.

Furthermore, a few dozen work in teams at

various clients and about 340 work for various

operators on platforms in the Dutch sector

of the North Sea. Other Fabricom offices

are located in Aberdeen, Newcastle and

Teesside in the United Kingdom, Stavanger

in Norway and Hoboken near Antwerp in

Belgium. And in the Netherlands there is also

an office in Moerdijk, where they work on

onshore projects, such as building tanks and

performing construction and modification

work on (petro)chemical complexes. “Our

mission is to relieve our customers of their

concerns where necessary and to perform

the work as efficiently and safely as possible.

Part of this service orientation at the time was

the appointment of a contract manager.”

Marc Bruin: “Our mission is to relieve our

customers of their concerns.”