WANTED: BLUE SYNERGY
According to Janne Alho, Project Man-
ager for Blue Industry Park, the competi-
“
Blue Industry Park aims to become
the leading production and
tive advantage of the Park is the synergy innovation cluster of maritime expertise
created by the co-operation of enterprises in Europe.
and other actors in the area.
“Blue Industry Park will combine a
critical mass of resources and expertise
along with a competitive setting with of operations so tremendously. The mate- companies, and through initial screening,
production, product development, and rial flows of the shipyard are set to dou- interviews and workshops, Royal Carib-
research,” he says. ble in the next three years,” he points out. bean and Meyer each found two start-
While the actual launch of the Park The Blue Industry Park could be the perfect ups with which they started co-operation.
is still in the future, Alho and his team “sidekick” for the shipyard, with as many Juhani Pitkänen, Technology Direc-
has been making headway on the digital as 100 companies (and 10,000 employ- tor of Royal Caribbean, stresses the impor-
side. A new Blue Industry virtual platform ees) in attendance – at least according to tance of the accelerator programme as a
is being created, with the aim of uniting all the plans. tool for development and renewal in the
the 1,200 companies of the Finnish mar-
industry. According to Pitkänen, up to
BIG FISH, LITTLE FISH now, the cruise business has largely leaned
“We are expecting to launch the first New startups are also rallying under the on traditions, and the industry practices
version of the platform in August 2019,” maritime flag. To accommodate the birth have been conservative.
says Alho. He explains that the idea here of new innovations, the Maritime Accel- “With rapid growth and fierce com-
is to put together the “platform of all erator programme was launched in 2018 petition, the old ways of working are no
maritime platforms,” allowing the indus- (by Turku Science Park together with longer enough to maintain our compet-
try players – big and small – full range of Avanto Ventures). Both Royal Caribbean itiveness,” he says. Through Maritime
communication. and Meyer Turku are participating in the Accelerator, Royal Caribbean wants to find
programme. a new innovative approach to develop its
itime cluster.
“There is clearly a need for improved
collaboration and communication, since Last year, the programme compiled a
the Turku shipyard is expanding its scope list of 500 internationally attractive growth
32
seatec 2/2019
business, challenge its own thinking and
boost its competitiveness. n