Penske Perth hosted the Global Procurement Director of Damen, Jacob Biemond, in mid-July as Damen focusses on the MTU engine component of their offshore patrol vessel (OPV) bid for the federal government.

After visiting Penske’s engine overhaul workshop, Mr Biemond said that he saw great opportunity for Penske as the MTU partner in Australia to build engines that are currently proposed in Damen’s SEA 1180 OPV tender.

“When you already have the skills required to disassemble and overhaul an engine, like Penske is doing, assembling a brand new engine is well within capacity,” said Mr Biemond.

“I was very impressed by the efficient setup of Penske’s testing facility and the professionalism of all their operations.”

Mr Biemond also expressed his intention to open discussions with Damen’s headquarters in the Netherlands with a view to exploring how Penske could play an increased role in the construction of the engines for the SEA 1180 vessels in Australia.

Potentially this could involve the transfer of a proportion of the machining activity of the core component within engines to Penske, in order to maximise use of the capability that currently exists in both Penske’s Perth and Sydney facilities.

“It was a pleasure to host Jacob at our Penske Perth facilities and to show him the range of our capabilities,” said Leigh Henderson, State Manager – WA.

“We look forward to further exploring opportunities with Damen to increase our participation in their extensive supply chain.”