Shipbuilder Meyer Group steps into floating solutions business

Germany’s Meyer Group, a shipbuilding consortium comprising three shipyards in Europe, has formed a joint venture with Admares Marine, a Finnish floating real estate company.

The new company, headquartered in Turku, Finland, is named Meyer Floating Solutions and is focused on developing and manufacturing floating real estate.

“Meyer Group had recognized great potential in the floating solutions business… The new venture combines the strengths of both companies and allows us to compete for the mega projects that are being built on the water,” Kaj Casén, CEO at Meyer Floating Solutions, said.

“We are happy to enter additional business areas and use our … know-how to create floating solutions for housing, tourism, infrastructure and many more,” Bernard Meyer, Chairman of Meyer Group, commented.

The industry of building real estate on water is expected to grow exponentially, as it offers a whole new opportunity to develop property in valuable locations. It has become even more valuable to build on water than by water, according to the shipbuilder.

For Meyer Group, the joint venture means “natural additional business” to its core business of shipbuilding.

The new company will continue to provide products manufactured and commissioned offsite in a controlled factory environment. Compared to conventional construction work, the company’s production methods enable shorter delivery times and minimized environmental impact since traditional construction sites can be completely avoided.

“Traditional construction industry is a slow adopter of new technologies. With the two companies’ strengths combined, the joint venture accumulates unprecedented expertise in the field of developing and manufacturing floating solutions,” Casén explained.

Joint mission to supply sustainable lifestyle opportunities on water

Meyer Group recently set a goal to develop a climate-neutral cruise ship concept by 2025 and to achieve carbon-neutral shipbuilding by 2030.

The newly formed Meyer Floating Solutions will follow this path and has defined sustainability as one of their core values, the JV partners said.

“The floating real estate solutions are by standard not seagoing vessels and require energy for moving and maneuvering. Therefore, there’s a great potential in going into fully energy neutral solutions, where electricity is generated by solar panels and heat pumps use water body to ensure both heating during winter and cooling during summer,” Casén continued.

The entire lifecycle of the products is designed to minimize environmental impact. Overwater buildings are designed with sustainable materials and manufactured in controlled manufacturing facilities. According to studies, this can reduce waste by over 70% and provides significant cost benefits as well as sustainability compared to traditional construction completed on site. The company expects to have a busy year ahead with multiple overwater projects in sight.

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