With the escalation of Trade War, cooperation with US companies has become increasingly difficult for Chinese. However, Qingdao Headway Technology Co., Ltd. recently obtained the largest batch of Ballast Water Treatment System (BWTS) retrofitting orders from the US market. In mid-September, Headway signed a total of 105 BWTS orders with Genco Shipping, the largest bulk carrier in the US, and Eagle Bulk, one of the world's largest Supramax shipowners, both of them are listed in the USA.
For a time, Qingdao Headway Company received high attention from the market. How come that Headway is still able to obtain the largest order from the US market when it enters a new stage in the Sino-US “Trade War”?
The Head of Headway’s Marketing Department said that after years of working in the field of BWTS, the company has formed in-depth cooperation with many American shipping companies such as the famous American shipowner Gener8 Maritime, Carnival Cruises, Chemical Transportation Group, and Tropical Shipping. On the US market , Headway BWTS has been installed on Container ships, Bulk carriers, Oil tankers, Chemical tankers, Cruise ships, and offshore vessels. As recently stated in China's White Paper, over the past 40 years, Sino-US Economic and Trade Exchanges have overcome many obstacles and formed a "Mutually Beneficial and Win-Win relationship with highly complementary structures and deep integration of interests". It has also become a "ballast stone and propeller for Sino-US relations." "The cooperation between Qingdao Headway and Genco Shipping and Eagle Bulk is exactly the same!"
According to reports, as early as 2013, Genco Shipping and Eagle Bulk had selected a number of BWTS makers including Qingdao Headway, on which were built by well-known shipyards such as Shanghai Waigaoqiao, Zhoushan Yangfan and Jiangsu Hantong shipyard, the batch of ships started to deliver from 2014, after shipowners and the Management companies continuously operation of the systems for up to four years, Headway systems have been performing reliably and efficiently., which won the recognition and trust of the shipowners with its low failure rate and excellent after-sales service. It is also an important reason for the two owners to choose Headway as the sole supplier.
While providing high-quality products to American companies, Qingdao Headway also actively provides financing solutions for Shipping companies to ease its financial pressure. At present, as the "Trade War" between China and the United States enters a new stage, the international shipping industry, which is in a difficult position, is even worse. The financial situation has generally deteriorated and financial pressure has been infinitely magnified. In the face of this situation, Qingdao Headway actively cooperates with Financial Institutions to provide financing solutions for shipping companies. According to the equipment size, installation layout, labor costs and other requirements, BWTS cost for retrofitting an existing ship will be around half to one million US dollars. While helping shipping companies tide over the difficulties, they have further strengthened their in-depth cooperation with shipping companies.
At present, with more and more BWTS coming into service, after-sales service has become the most troublesome problem for ship owners: slow response, unsatisfactory service, inability to supply parts after sales, etc. , this led to the US Coast Guard, PSC fines and even detention of the vessels, which may cause big cost for shipowners and management companies. Therefore, a mature after-sales system has become the most important condition for ship owners to choose BWTS manufacturers.
With 6 years of experience accumulation and team training, Qingdao Headway has established its own competitive advantage in the existing ship modification market and built a “one-stop” existing ship modification service system. With the official opening of three major spare parts warehouses in the United States, the Netherlands and Singapore, more than 30 after-sales service centers of Headway will realize local and high-efficiency one-stop service, including “Inspection, Installation, Training and After-Sales Service”. The service fundamentally breaks the communication problems between crew members and service engineers between different countries and regions, and ensures that all after-sales needs receive professional and effective response in the first time.
Up to now, there are still about 25,000 to 30,000 ships that need to retrofit BWTS. In 2018, Headway Ocean Guard Ballast Water Treatment System Industrialization Demonstration Base was officially opened in Qingdao, China, with an annual production capacity of more than 1,000 sets per year. Headway continued to adhere to the enterprise spirit of “Service, Innovation and Win-Win” to build a high-end ship with national brand. , and to serve the global customers.
