STAYING ON COURSE
Fluid control expert Hoppe Marine is celebrating 75 years with new facilities, products, and partnerships. General Manager of Hoppe Marine Lothar Beinke, President of Hoppe America Ivo Beu, and Marketing Manager Sönke Manβen reflected on the company’s extensive history and discussed what the future might hold. Report by Imogen Ward.
Hoppe Marine is renowned globally for automated fluid control and measuring systems.
“The past 75 years featured so many highlights,” said General Manager of Hoppe Marine Lothar Beinke. “From technical milestones, inventions, and patents to acquisitions and growth, Hoppe has witnessed it all.”
In particular, the entrance of General Manager Helmut Rohde in 1990 was a key milestone – stimulating the development of many innovative products.
“Helmut is an incredibly innovative person, and most of his designs are still in our portfolio today,” continued Mr. Beinke. “His dedication transformed Hoppe from a measuring company into a system and service provider for complex fluid control solutions. With his technical support, we continue his work, implementing new ideas into the business model.”
In 2003, his son Marc joined the company, then in 2012 Helmut handed over full company control to continue his life’s work.
Lothar Beinke, who started 2016 as General Manger next to Marc Rohde, prefers smaller operations with the ability to create customer value without too many barriers due to a flat company hierarchy. For him, this is a key factor to grow and globalize the business. It started with the office opening 1996 in Korea, followed by China (2010) and Singapore (2016). This list expanded again at the start of 2024, following the exciting announcement that Hoppe had localized within the US market.
New opportunities state-side Hoppe America was a long time in the making. Having previously applied a lot of its attention to the Europe and Asian markets, Hoppe intended to diversify its reach, while actively seeking new vessel types to work on. America was the ideal place to make that vision a reality.
“We have a strong desire to grow, and we want to secure our place within the industry for years to come,” explained President of Hoppe America Ivo Beu. “In order to achieve that, we must diversify and find new markets.
“The US market is huge; we’re talking about the biggest economy in the world. So, it made perfect sense for Hoppe to set up shop here.”
“Ivo is also a huge asset to our plans,” added Mr. Beinke. “He is in Pennsylvania, he understands the procedures for opening offices in the States, and he understands the market. I have seen companies in the past try and struggle to localize in the States because they lack that local knowledge.”
Hoppe America has already opened its doors and is currently offering the complete Hoppe portfolio. So far, the new office has received a lot of positive feedback.
Expanding its portfolio
Hoppe has an extensive product range, some of which were the direct result of key acquisitions. The legacies of which remain alive thanks to Hoppe Marine’s
choice of branding – with each acquired product retaining its original name.
In 2010, the company acquired stabilization systems expert FLUME, adding the company’s first-class passive roll stabilization tanks to its range.
Designed to provide smooth sailing in all seas, this passive roll damping tank boosts onboard comfort and safety, while reducing vessel resistance. The tanks are customized to ensure the perfect pairing in every project. Also, retrofitting the FLUME system on existing vessels can be an option. Just last year, the company completed a further acquisition, adding S-two’s expertise in integrated valve remote control systems to Hoppe Marine’s product portfolio.
Also, the acquisition of S-two was a friendly one: the previous owners had no successor, and he knew that we
would take good care of his company,” explained Mr. Beinke. “We were fortunate to inherit the Smartship PowerBus as part
75 years of success:
In honor of its 75-year anniversary, Hoppe has designed polo shirts, featuring the new 75-year logo. The company hosted a summer beach party in Hamburg for employees and their families.
The company will also commemorate the anniversary at this year's SMM with special events, such as a stand party and a celebration with long-standing customers and partners.
General Manager Lothar Beinke
President of Hoppe America Ivo Beu Mona Wilhelm Project Developer Motion Control Systems
of the deal, and this has become a highlight of our portfolio.
“It’s an incredibly robust system with many advantages in safety, operation, and reliability.”
This unique system was designed to house a dual redundant serial ring bus and automatic data-rerouting for continuous operability.
“Following the integration of this new product, we began an active sales strategy,” continued Mr. Beinke. “We have now received our first big orders for container vessels, mega yachts and other specialized ships.
“Additionally, the system delivers cos t and time savings for the shipyard and less maintenance for the customer, plus increased safety and reliability.”
Important projects
Hoppe maintains a close relationship with its customers, relying on a technical exchange of information to adapt and enhance its offering.
“We depend on an internal tech group, which assesses new technologies and implements future trend analysis,” explained Mr. Beu. “Close tracking and participation in new and upcoming rules and regulations is also an important element for meeting the customer demands of the future.”
Several new product ideas have formed from this collaboration, including the company’s shaft power limitation system. Designed to help minimize fuel consumption onboard, this system was incredibly popular with Hoppe’s customers.
“We developed this system through an information exchange with our customers, in response to new incoming regulations,” added Mr. Beinke. “The product was a huge success, making more than 400 sales over a 24-month period.”
The company is also renowned for its ability to adapt and customize existing products for its customers. Recently, Hoppe completed a project for Pelagic
Wind Services, where it was tasked with equipping two new state-of-the-art CSOVs with INTERING U-Tank systems, an anti-heeling system with flow control, and a tank gauging system.
“This was a great project,” commented Mr. Beu. “It took around 18 months to complete – from order intake to delivery – and will help improve vessel performance and seakeeping behavior.”
More complex products are an increasing focal point for Hoppe, with roll damping systems an ever-popular choice amongst its customers. Currently, the company is installing these systems on a series of 20 large container vessels.
“These systems reduce the roll motion of a vessel, allowing an increased container intake and improving the overall operational efficiency of the vessel,” explained Mr. Beinke. “Additionally, we developed fully automatic tank level control for the new series.”
This automatic adjustment feature ensures the FLUME tanks operate at
maximum efficiency no matter the sea conditions. This guarantees a voyage filled with safety, comfort, and efficiency.
“The beauty of having such complex systems in our portfolio is their ability to push the boundaries of capability,” continued Mr. Beinke. “That is why one of our main objectives is to focus on more complex machinery.”
Hoppe intends to implement a higher degree of automation to enable better remote control of its systems. With 200 vessels already making the most of its land-based cloud server, Hoppe is confident this is the way forward.
“Every year, we inject 5 percent of our annual revenue back into R&D,” said Mr. Beu, in conclusion. “And for me, the more complex a solution, the better. I am a very technical driven person and being a part of Hoppe’s development, here in America, is incredibly exciting. From where I am sitting, the future is looking bright for Hoppe.”
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