Transocean's first 40 years

Citation

(2000), "Transocean's first 40 years", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 47 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.2000.12847baa.002

Transocean's first 40 years

Transocean's first 40 years

Keyword: Transocean

Millennium year 1999 marked the 40th anniversary of the founding of Transocean. In 1959 Mr Gunnar Ringstrøm, a Swedish paint factory owner advertised for marine paint manufacturers to join a voluntary organisation in order to pool their R&D work and set up a sales network.

Initially ten companies in European countries agreed to co-operate in the marine paint field. Each company contributed to the establishment of the association office in Rotterdam, in The Netherlands

It is the firm belief of the joint chairmen of Transocean, Jens Klauer and Olaf Riecken, that the founder members did things the right way when deciding to create a non-profit organisation. This enabled them to carry out common research and to provide assistance to each other in world-wide supplies. Co-operation in R&D is vital in a changing market that is dictated to by a plethora of world-wide environmental legislation.

The association's chairmen consider that membership brings the advantage of globalisation without losing independence. In their opinion the world-wide technical input and exchange of experience of its members are Transocean's great advantage in the market, providing it with a product range in-depth.

New companies entering the marine market which join the association get the advantage of an established organisation. Membership enables them to step into the marine market with a world-wide proven product range.

Transocean's chairmen consider that the idea to create a marine paint association was a novel and purely theoretical one. Nobody knew if the model would work - it had not been tried before. However, 40 years on the strengths and abilities of this unique organisation are a proven fact.

In the opinion of chairmen Klauer and Riecken, the foresight of the founding members only allows one comment: "They did it the right way in 1959".