Maritime Accelerator is already sailing in full speed towards the first bootcamp in October. The corporate partners Wärtsilä, Royal Caribbean, Meyer Turku, Foreship, NAPA Group and Cadmatic have kicked off their work and started clearing their scopes with the experts from Turku Business Region and Avanto Ventures.
Marjo Keiramo, Senior Program Manager from Royal Caribbean, is looking forward to meet the startups and take concrete steps with the new business ventures.
– We want to know how new sustainable technologies can help us to develop faster and answer in the changing needs of the industry. Our aim is to build long-lasting partnerships with growth companies who know our demands and are willing to share their knowledge and bring efficiency e.g. to our cruise operations and passenger safety. I think we share common goals with many partners and sparring together will push us all forward.
Mika Heiskanen, Executive Board Member from Meyer Turku, sees plenty of opportunities in the collaboration.
– This is a unique possibility to have deeper understanding how to utilise the full potential we have in the industry and get to know the future players. Our focus is on two categories: dockyard technology and cruise ships. We are looking solutions especially in logistics, safety, security and sustainability. We think that Maritime Accelerator is a new interesting way to have a closer look to global startup ecosystem and find synergies with partners like Royal Caribbean and Wärtsilä.
Changing the future together
Both Heiskanen and Keiramo think that Maritime Accelerator is a fresh way to support the strategy of the marine industry and its growth.
–We have fleet of cruise ships where we can pilot new products and services. Our facilities enables the growth companies’ to find out how their product would fit in the marine environment.”, Keiramo comments.
-Our potential in the market is huge and we have our own platform called Floating Smart City for piloting and developing new ideas. Digitalisation and new innovations in logistics are evolving our dock fast. We know that growth companies have now great opportunity to do business with us”.
Entrepreneur, want to join the Maritime Accelerator? Apply before the end of July here.
Partners of Maritime Accelerator
Wärtsilä is a global leader in smart technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. The company has approximately 18,000 employees and operations in over 200 locations in more than 80 countries around the world.
Royal Caribbean is known for driving innovation at sea and has continuously redefined cruise vacationing since its launch in 1969. The six companies of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. employ 65,000 people from over 120 countries.
Meyer Turku Oy employs 1,900 persons and specializes in building highly complex, innovative and environmentally friendly cruise ships, car-passenger ferries and special vessels. Together with two sister shipyards in Germany, Meyer Werft in Papenburg and Neptun Werft in Rostock, Meyer Turku is one of the world’s leading cruise ship builders.
Foreships is a company with 80 professionals engineering and designing ships for over 70 customers globally. Foreship works with world’s largest cruise lines as well as passenger, cargo and offshore shipowners, leading shipyards and maritime suppliers.
NAPA Group is a world leading software house providing solutions for ship design and operation with the mission to improve safety and eco-efficiency of the global maritime industry. Headquartered in Finland, NAPA employs 170 people in the fields of naval architecture, shipping and information technology.
Cadmatic is globally 2nd biggest developer of digital and intelligent 3D-based design, engineering and information management software solutions for the marine and plant industries. For four years Cadmatic have had 20 % organic annual growth rate. The company has 950 customers in 57 countries.