Company Announcement - Elgin Brown & Hamer Namibia’s partnership with Rolls-Royce has recently been strengthened through a training opportunity which has seen four employees boost their skills in marine engine repair. The employees were chosen, along with three Rolls-Royce trainees, to undergo a training programme at Rolls-Royce’s engine factory in Bergen, Norway, from 10th August to 4th September 2015. This initiative is in line with EBH Namibia’s drive to provide ongoing training for its employees, so they can grow in their careers while at the same time meeting the needs of the company’s increasing list of international customers.

“Our partnership with Rolls-Royce is of significant strategic importance to EBH Namibia, and the training that our employees have received is invaluable in terms of the transference of globally sought-after skills,” says Hannes Uys, Chief Executive Officer of EBH Namibia. “Serving the African market via our Namibian service hub, is a key part of our strategy to provide a good service in every port, every day. To live up to our own set of high standards we need to invest in our relationship with our partners and invest in our employees,” says Patrick Adam, Service Centre Manager Africa: Rolls-Royce. “Together with EBH we now have seven engineers trained who will be able to provide all required service and overhaul work on-board our joint customers’ vessels.”

The three trainees from Rolls-Royce - Nestor Ndapuka, Sethole Montonane and Brian Profitt - and four trainees from EBH Namibia - Jacobus Jacobus, Joseph Nendongo, Silas Shihepo and Teopolina Shilongo - were joined by EBH Namibia’s HR Manager Patrick Chizabulyo, Mechanical Superintendent Erwin Keiseb, and Rolls-Royce’s Patrick Adam.

Chizabulyo describes as the training as “an important milestone” in the mutually beneficial relationship between EBH Namibia and Rolls-Royce. “An important part of our value offering to our customers is to find synergistic partnerships with other players in the industry and to leverage off each other’s expertise. The training that our employees received will enable them to assist our partners, Rolls-Royce, in the repair and overhaul of Bergen engines, and will also enhance our own skills base at EBH Namibia,” says Chizabulyo.
Based on an agreement which was signed in early 2011, Rolls-Royce, under its marine division Marine & Industrial Power Systems, has been operating a dedicated servicing hub at EBH Namibia’s Walvis Bay facility.  EBH Namibia has been providing artisanal and semi-skilled labour, working alongside Rolls-Royce technicians in propulsion and related mechanical work. The newly-acquired skills will enhance Rolls-Royce and EBH Namibia’s position to tender for Bergen overhaul work in the future.

“Rolls-Royce proposed that EBH Namibia nominate a few employees to attend training at their Bergen Engines facility in Norway,” explains Chizabulyo. Bergen Engines, a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, manufactures a range of medium speed gas and liquid fuel engines for the marine and offshore oil and gas industries. The training programme for EBH Namibia was extremely comprehensive, and included basic electrical and control systems, mechanical adjustments and start-up procedures, the maintenance of water and oil pumps, the overhaul of cylinder heads and valves, assembly line training and an introduction to gas engines. “It was a fascinating experience, for those of us from EBH Namibia, to experience the world class expertise of Rolls-Royce first-hand, and we were overwhelmed by the positive and welcoming culture at their Bergen facility,” comments Chizabulyo.

EBH Namibia prides itself on its skills development programmes, which have included exchange programmes with other leading shipyards around the world. “As a player in the global shipping industry, we have long since placed training and career development at the top of our agenda. This is becoming an increasingly important part of our overall aim, which is to provide our clients with the highest levels of support and service, further enhancing our position as a shipyard of choice on the west coast of Africa,” Uys concludes.