PALFINGER MARINE catches a big "fish" in the Pacific Northwest

On Tuesday June 21st, PALFINGER MARINE has received an order for the delivery of three marine cranes for a new build, the 265 foot factory freezer trawler F/V AMERICA’S FINEST. The vessel is currently being built at the Dakota Creek shipyard in Anacortes, WA for Kirkland WA based Fishermen’s Finest Inc. F/V AMERICA’S FINEST was designed by Skipsteknisk in Ålesund, Norway in conjunction with Seattle based Elliot Bay Design Group providing manufacturing design work. F/V AMERICA’S FINEST is the newest, most advanced factory freezer trawler currently under construction in the United States and will be delivered in November 2018 to participate in the North Pacific and Bering Sea Groundfish fisheries. This order is historical for PALFINGER MARINE and its new set-up in Seattle, Washington, as it is the first order PALFINGER MARINE manages to win for such a vessel in the Pacific Northwest.

“In this specific segment here in the United States, the word of mouth is more important than anything else” explains Brian Jacob, PALFINGER MARINE Business Development Manager based in Seattle. “The Pacific Northwest fisheries are an enormous potential market but it managed by a very small community of individuals, where everybody knows each other. Our results here will be based on our ability to supply with the best products and services while being reactive and providing the best technical consulting to our customers”, he continues. “We are certainly very excited about this order that marks the beginning of something bigger for us here. F/V AMERICAL’S FINEST is a state of the art factory freezer trawler and having these three PALFINGER MARINE cranes aboard not only proves that PALFINGER MARINE has been recognised for its high quality, reliability and safety products, it also opens a lot of gates for the future of PALFINGER MARINE in the Pacific Northwest fishing fleet”.

Large potential for PALFINGER MARINE cranes for North American Fishing industry

The large majority of boats in the North Pacific fishing fleet is based in the state of Washington and the economic impact from their activity is largely realised here. The average age of the fleet is more than 30 years and as many as half of the boats currently fishing in the Bering Sea and other Alaska fisheries need to be replaced.
PALFINGER MARINE’s strategy of starting a new activity in this part of the United States hence matches quite well the Washington State Fishing Fleet Recapitalization Program. “Having a technical and solution oriented person in this new segment is essential for our short, mid and long term success here” says Brian Jacob. “Our new customers here are simply expecting the best technical support, the fastest response time and the best products. PALFINGER MARINE has provided that for years throughout Europe and Asia, and is excited to bring it to the North Pacific and Bering Sea fishing fleets. Furthermore, having the PALFINGER passion and family spirit surely helps and facilitate the dialog with the main companies involved in this industry.”

Newly established PALFINGER MARINE set-up in Seattle

Brian Jacob, former employee of PALFINGER MARINE Offshore Cranes (Bergen, Norway), took over the position of Business Development in Seattle in February 2016. Based on his previous experience in technical sales and leading the development of tailor-made solutions for marine and offshore cranes abroad, customers can rely on his knowledge and service orientation. He is now responsible for overseeing and directing PALFINGER MARINE’s planned expansion into the Pacific Northwest fisheries market and promote PALFINGER MARINE’s products with a high focus on quality, safety, technicality and reliability.

Picture 1: America’s Finest Factory Fishing Vessel. Copyright by Skipsteknisk.
Picture 2: Brian Jacob, Business Development Manager PALFINGER MARINE, based in Seattle.