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Displaying items by tag: Whale Pumps

#whale – For the fourth year running, Whale (Munster Simms Engineering Ltd) in Northern Ireland have been included in the Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies To Work For List and have climbed 27 places since 2010.

The company also achieved top 3 star accreditation for extraordinary achievements in the field of employee satisfaction.

The company believes it is the first local manufacturer to introduce flexible working for all, including factory staff.

Three quarters of employees work flexi-time with many choosing to start and finish early to enjoy a longer weekend to relax with their families. More than three quarters for employees fed back that they are happy with their work life balance thereby increasing motivation levels.

Published in Marine Trade
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#mbe – Whale Managing Director, Patrick Hurst  has been awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in recognition of services to the Northern Ireland business community.

Patrick is currently involved in a number of business activities, which include the role of Managing Director for Munster Simms Engineering as well as working on behalf of Invest NI, and a number of privately owned manufacturing companies as an Independent Business Advisor.

As a co-owner of Whale (Munster Simms Engineering Ltd) Patrick's innovative vision has resulted in increasing turnover by 48% between 2009 and 2011 as well as increased workforce by over 50% since 2008. Hurst's drive for innovation has inspired his design team and today 70% of products that are new or significantly re-engineered in the last 3 years.

Faith in Patrick's leadership was confirmed by the company being listed in the Sunday Times Best company to work for survey for the last 3 years running. Whale was particularly commended for looking after the wellbeing of its staff, an overall ranking of 8th reflects the faith in Patrick Hurst, Managing Director and the employees trust in the "sound capabilities" of the leadership.

Published in Marine Trade
Tagged under
A Bangor-based engineering firm has won a deal to supply pump systems to French boatbuilder BJ Technologie.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that Munster Simms, which also trades as Whale Pumps, will supply bilge and shower waste pumps to the international sail boat manufacturer in what it describes as one of its biggest ever deals.
Managing director Patrick Hurst told the Telegraph that the deal was a "tremendous achievement" giving his business a solid base for the future.
The company, which is soon to move to new premises in Balloo, has been developing plumbing systems for the leisure industry more than 60 years and employs 148 people. Last year it announced a £3 million (€3.5 million) investment in research and development to increase sales beyond Northern Ireland.

A Bangor-based engineering firm has won a deal to supply pump systems to French boatbuilder BJ Technologie.

The Belfast Telegraph reports that Munster Simms, which also trades as Whale Pumps, will supply bilge and shower waste pumps to the international sail boat manufacturer in what it describes as one of its biggest ever deals.

Managing director Patrick Hurst told the Telegraph that the deal was a "tremendous achievement" giving his business a solid base for the future.

The company, which is soon to move to new premises in Balloo, has been developing plumbing systems for the leisure industry more than 60 years and employs 148 people. Last year it announced a £3 million (€3.5 million) investment in research and development to increase sales beyond Northern Ireland.

Published in News Update

Galway Port & Harbour

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city and port is located on the northeast side of the bay. The bay is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and from 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to 30 kilometres (19 miles) in breadth.

The Aran Islands are to the west across the entrance and there are numerous small islands within the bay.

Galway Port FAQs

Galway was founded in the 13th century by the de Burgo family, and became an important seaport with sailing ships bearing wine imports and exports of fish, hides and wool.

Not as old as previously thought. Galway bay was once a series of lagoons, known as Loch Lurgan, plied by people in log canoes. Ancient tree stumps exposed by storms in 2010 have been dated back about 7,500 years.

It is about 660,000 tonnes as it is a tidal port.

Capt Brian Sheridan, who succeeded his late father, Capt Frank Sheridan

The dock gates open approximately two hours before high water and close at high water subject to ship movements on each tide.

The typical ship sizes are in the region of 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes

Turbines for about 14 wind projects have been imported in recent years, but the tonnage of these cargoes is light. A European industry report calculates that each turbine generates €10 million in locally generated revenue during construction and logistics/transport.

Yes, Iceland has selected Galway as European landing location for international telecommunications cables. Farice, a company wholly owned by the Icelandic Government, currently owns and operates two submarine cables linking Iceland to Northern Europe.

It is "very much a live project", Harbourmaster Capt Sheridan says, and the Port of Galway board is "awaiting the outcome of a Bord Pleanála determination", he says.

90% of the scrap steel is exported to Spain with the balance being shipped to Portugal. Since the pandemic, scrap steel is shipped to the Liverpool where it is either transhipped to larger ships bound for China.

It might look like silage, but in fact, its bales domestic and municipal waste, exported to Denmark where the waste is incinerated, and the heat is used in district heating of homes and schools. It is called RDF or Refuse Derived Fuel and has been exported out of Galway since 2013.

The new ferry is arriving at Galway Bay onboard the cargo ship SVENJA. The vessel is currently on passage to Belem, Brazil before making her way across the Atlantic to Galway.

Two Volvo round world races have selected Galway for the prestigious yacht race route. Some 10,000 people welcomed the boats in during its first stopover in 2009, when a festival was marked by stunning weather. It was also selected for the race finish in 2012. The Volvo has changed its name and is now known as the "Ocean Race". Capt Sheridan says that once port expansion and the re-urbanisation of the docklands is complete, the port will welcome the "ocean race, Clipper race, Tall Ships race, Small Ships Regatta and maybe the America's Cup right into the city centre...".

The pandemic was the reason why Seafest did not go ahead in Cork in 2020. Galway will welcome Seafest back after it calls to Waterford and Limerick, thus having been to all the Port cities.

© Afloat 2020