Faroe Business Report — The International Review of Faroe Islands Industry and Trade - Faroe Business Report — The International Review of Faroe Islands Industry and Trade

Fast-growing MP Teknik retains marine electronics as part of core business while extending focus to cover maritime safety in a broad sense — with a new ace up their sleeve: an unbeatable clean agent fire extinguishing system.

When it comes to moving with the times while at the same time staying focused and committed to success, there’s one up and coming Faroese company that invariably comes to mind: MP Teknik. As the newly appointed Faroe Islands and Greenland representatives of a promising fire extinguishing system designed to replace older, often dangerous and less environmentally friendly installations, Klaksvík’s marine electronics startup is expanding into safety at sea.

Already backed by several dealerships in marine electronics, including one that gives access to a global service infrastructure and covers virtually every port at which ships call, MP Teknik is now looking to further broaden its business base.

A window of opportunity came up when the Faroese Maritime Authority earlier this year announced a series of new rules and regulations to increase safety at sea.

“The recent toughening of safety regulations means that a lot of fire extinguishing systems will have to be replaced within the near future,” MP Teknik managing partner Petur í Gong said. So this opportunity triggered MP Teknik’s response: introducing the Clean Agent FS 49 C2.

FS 49 C2. That registered trademark may have an anonymous ring to it, yet a closer examination of the name reveals that it’s a widely recognized fire extinguisher — approved, accepted and tested by a host of highly respected bodies such as the IMO (International Maritime Organization — the United Nations Agency concerned with the safety of shipping and cleaner oceans), the Swedish Armed Forces, the Norwegian Armed Forces, major maritime classification societies, and the maritime authorities of major countries.

It’s been approved by the Faroese Maritime Authority as well, Mr í Gong said.

“This means we have a very attractive offer for ships and boats in the Faroes as well as and Greenland. Since the system has been approved by the authorities here, we’re ready to introduce it to the fishing fleets and the merchant fleets including the offshore sector.”

Developed and manufactured by a Swedish company in close cooperation with public research institutions, the FS 49 C2 is believed to be one of the fastest and most effective extinguishing systems on the market. What’s more, this is a clean agent and poses no hazards whatsoever to neither people nor the environment.

“Thousands of installed FS 49 C2 systems protect industrial, marine, offshore and military applications throughout the world. It’s used for the protection of vessels, buildings, engines, computer rooms… anything. In the event of fire, it discharges very quickly and fills the room efficiently to quench the fire without endangering personnel.”

The fire extinguishing system was in fact developed to provide a replacement for the Halon 1301, offering the same optimum characteristics yet with minimum impact on the environment.

“We believe this is the obvious choice for replacing the Halon 1301,” Mr í Gong said. “It can even be used in existing Halon systems.”

Aside from safety equipment and related services, MP Teknik’s core business is still marine electronics. The company has managed to attract key personnel to the extent that its market share has grown from zero to considerable in a couple of years.

Founded in 2004 by brothers Petur and Malvinus í Gong, originally as a consumer electronics company, subsequently shifting focus to marine electronics, MP Teknik was catapulted to a new level as more experts joined in and a dealership contract with Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine came into place, as well as Scanmar, JMC (Japan Marina Co.) and more. This empowered the company in selling, repairing and servicing navigation, communication and fish finding systems including radars, echo sounders and all the sort of devices found in a ship’s wheelhouse. For that matter, MP Teknik also offers a complete bridge concept known as FlexiBridge.

Trained as an electronics engineer, with a special interest in marine technology, partner Malvinus í Gong recently left his MD position to concentrate on the technical side.

The technical team has been strengthened by several engineers and electricians. One of the most experienced from the marine scene, Willemoes Olsen, joined a couple of years ago and became one of the main partners along with the í Gong brothers.

“The business is growing so fast that we’ve been having a hard time,” he said half laughingly, half seriously. “Luckily most of us are still young and energetic.”

In another piece of news, MP Teknik has been approved to inspect marine equipment for GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress Safety System) compliance. “Now, there’s some catch up to do,” Mr Olsen commented.

Link to pdf presentation...

< Prev		Next >