Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corp, China's biggest shipyard, upped its rank to number four in the world in terms of orders in hand which it attributes to a combination of technical innovation and an expanded product range.
Strong domestic and overseas demand was a source for the ship plant's new orders, 70% of which is for export. Because of its high product quality and competitive prices, current order volumes mean Dalian Shipbuilding has a full order book until 2011. Current yearly revenue reached $1.60 billion and is expected to top $2.66 billion by the end of 2010. After the shipbuilder succeeded in building China's first VLCCs for Iran, it was committed to self-innovation and to challenging Korean and Japanese dominance.
Dalian Shipbuilding introduced skilled technicians and set up a sophisticated work platform for employees which helped to reform ship design planning and management and strengthen the shipyard's ability in research and development.
According to a Bloomberg report, China overtook Japan as the world's second-biggest shipbuilding country, after South Korea, this year. Chinese shipyards are furthermore beginning to focus on more complex and pricier carriers in a bid to tap the high added value ship types such as LNG carriers.
