Supporting the maritime sector

Having worked nationally in partnership with several marine engineering companies for very many years the company has stepped into to fill the void generated by ship repairer Burgess Marine’s recent sale and the vast reduction in its Dover footprint.

Mechanica Marine has been established to focus on ship care and repair, the support of maritime infrastructure, and marine grade fabrication. The company has already developed significant relationships with Eurotunnel, Wartsila, Boskalis, Volker Stevin, the Port of Dover, Seajets in Greece, and Incat in Tasmania.

James Horsham, the founder and managing director of Mechanica Utilities, said: “Mechanica Marine is a business focused on customer care and response times, the same as our utilities business. We aim to give the customer exactly what they want - nothing less. We’ve excellent workshop facilities and excellent, trained, marine engineers. The expertise inherent in Mechanica Marine stems from our sister company Mechanica Utilities: welding and fabrication, marine mechanical engineering, motor refurbishments and rewinds, pump refurbishment and repairs, machine shop services and electrical installations and repairs.”

The utilities sector remains the focus of the businesses’ custom with major clients to include Thames Water, Southern Water and South East Water.

Horsham said: “The sale of the Burgess Marine business has created an opportunity for us locally, nationally and internationally. Our aluminium welding and fabrication team have already undertaken major fast ferry repair jobs in Greece and in Argentina, and we’ve a workshop full of Eurotunnel equipment.

“We look forward to developing relationships with many of Burgess Marine’s local legacy customers well in to the future. As our marine engineering business grows we hope to employ more skilled resources locally and really push to expand our operations across the South Coast and further afield. We aim to be professional and I think our customer focus is spot on.

“Our objective is to create a sustainable, long-term, business of significant value and the creation of Mechanica Marine is a major step in the right direction. Our five year plan sees annualised revenues in excess of £10m and we’re already two years in and very much on track.”

Danny Gunner, the marine superintendent of Mechanica Marine, added: “My background is 100% marine centric, as is many of the team here in Dover. Given the infancy of our business we’ve already had several major wins. We’ve manufactured bespoke lobster back bends for Boskalis Westminster, scrubbers for Wartsila, pipework for Holyhead Towing, two major aluminium repairs for Incat, as well as the provision of support to Svitzer and the Port of Dover.

“Our niche, and perhaps biggest advantage, is the size of our facility here in Dover. Our intent is very much to grow the marine fabrication side of the business and the ship-side support piece. Both the marine and utilities sectors endure a big element of emergency response and last-minute support - that’s us. That’s what we do. Me and my colleagues, the team here at Mechanica get a buzz out of the level of support we provide and the timely response we offer.”