...AND ADVANCES INTO THE CRANE MARKET
(Seattle,
WA) - Rapp Marine Group recently acquired Hydra Pro, a crane manufacturing firm
in Seattle. Possessing both American Petroleum Institute (API) Spec
2C and ISO 9001: 2008 certifications, Rapp Hydra Pro is a rarity in the
crane community. Hydra Pro also manufactures A-Frames, cylinders and
other associated machinery. Hydra Pro’s clientèle includes
customers the offshore oil industry, the U.S. military, and various other
marine sub-sectors, including ROV-handling. Kurt Manchester is the new Hydra Pro President; he has over 25 years of
manufacturing experience.
Winch
manufacture has recently been added to the new facility’s activities, and
possibilities for future expansion are significant. The Rapp Hydra Pro
facility was reconfigured some years ago in accord with Lean Manufacturing
principles, which are well reflected in process flows, inventory, and
manpower distribution. 5 S, Kaizen and other best business practices are also
in use here.
Johann Sigurjonsson, President of Rapp Hydema U.S., is impressed by the
operation’s functionality and said that he is planning to replicate some of
these practices to the original 4433 27th Avenue facility. Closely
involved in all aspects of the acquisition process, Sigurjonsson called Hydra
Pro “a most important addition to the Rapp family” which includes existing
facilities in Dutch Harbor, AK, Seattle, WA (two sites: the traditional
one along 27th Avenue West, and a new warehouse being outfitted for
more manufacturing at 24th Avenue West), and the Houston sales
office. Yet these existing Rapp U.S. facilities are chiefly focused on
Rapp’s long-standing winch business.
Sigurjonsson
noted that the Hydra Pro acquisition “sharply increases our U.S.-based
manufacturing capabilities” at a time when local manufacture has become very
attractive. “Rapp U.S. has long had a certain amount of crane repair and
rebuild work; but this new operation gives us the opportunity to present the
field with a complete deck machinery package, as opposed to just a partial
approach.” Rapp Hydema and Rapp Hydra Pro will be jointly exhibiting at
the upcoming New Orleans Workboat show, at the end of November.