MES President Addresses Company Developments

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES) president Takao Tanaka delivered a New Year message in which he comments on future market directions and developments as related to MES as well as the industry as a whole. Tanaka outlined his company’s approach to stabilizing profits across each market segment in which it is present, highlighting a company-wide focus on expansion and balanced growth.

Tanaka said the present business environment sees global increases in energy demand and the progression of structural changes in the industry resulting from the shale gas revolution, creating a positive business environment for certain business segments within MES. “Our chemical plant business, environment and energy business, and container crane business are all benefiting from the current environment,” Tanaka said, adding that the company’s subsidiaries Mitsui Ocean Development & Engineering Co., Ltd. is also performing well in its ocean resources development business.

While other segments experience growth, MES’ new shipbuilding and marine engine businesses, however, are facing a decline in the ocean transport market that has led to a decrease in profits, placing a group-wide focus on achieving recovery in these markets.

“To adapt to such significant change in the market and overcome severe condition, it is vital that we address issues facing management with sense of urgency,” Tanaka said. “The direction in which our company will head is one that enables us to realize a balanced business portfolio that combines continuous growth with stable earnings by the final year of the plan in FY2016.”

MES’ answer to industry hardships materialized in June of last year with the launch of a new operating structure and the draft of its “Midterm Business Plan 2014” (MBP14). Tanaka said MES will work specifically toward two types of reform.

“Our first goal is to innovate the business areas. With our current core businesses of shipbuilding and marine engines, we are facing intensifying product competition. We will strive to make a qualitative shift in our product lineup so that we can achieve a competitive advantage when the shipbuilding market does recover.”

“Our second goal is to innovate the business models,” Tanaka said. “In the past, our business model was a build and sell model through which we sold either finished products or plants such as EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) projects. Moving forward, we will expand this model to include follow-up services, operational maintenance, and business management to create a comprehensive business model that covers the entire life cycle of our core business products. This business model will help us achieve profit stability.”

“There is no future in simply continuing conventional methods. These two reforms are vital to our becoming a company with future dreams and a company that has meaning in society,” Tanaka concluded.