The rapidly growing construction company Aura Rakennus Oy has established a subsidiary, Aura Flow Oy, specializing in the rrefurbihments of passenger and cruise ships. The operation of the new company is based on an exceptional way of utilizing the group's resources beyond traditional industry boundaries. It is the first time that a major Finnish construction company expands its operations into the marine industry.
Ship renovation is a global business, where specialized know-how can be found where the ships are also built. Aura Flow's Finnish management and key personnel have considerable experience in the construction of cruise ships and a wide contact network for the factors needed in the renovation, such as design, logistics, plumbing and installation experts.
The restructuring market is in a situation where market shares are being redistributed after the stoppage of the cruise industry caused by the travel restrictions following the pandemic declaration. Aura Flow is a new project house that offers shipping companies renovation services on a turnkey basis. At the core of the new company is an exceptional operating model, where project management and work management resources are utilized across industry boundaries as needed.
"We naturally start with entry level projects, but thanks to Aura Group's resources, we are able to scale our services efficiently according to the needs of our customers, says the company's new CEO Mikko Varjanne.
The demand for refurbishments of passenger ships is expected to grow strongly from 2025. The engine of demand is the active newbuilding of cruise ships that is currently underway. Older ships must be able to respond to the pressures caused by the supply of new ships.
Aura Flow's vision is to achieve the position of a credit supplier for passenger and cruise ship shipping companies operating around the world, near and far. The aim is to achieve the goal by specializing 100% in renovation construction and by providing high-quality service in project operations. Scaling is made possible by combining experienced experts and project management processes.
"Expanding into traditional renovation construction has been in our plans since the founding of the Aura Group. However, the business plan presented by Mikko Varjante convinced Aura's owners in an exceptional way to expand into the maritime industry and, in general, the possibilities of renovating passenger ships. In accordance with our expectations, we have already found that the financial and production management systems we use are directly suitable for Aura Flow's operations. Maritime industry and construction have a lot to learn from each other, which supports our company's idea of a path of continuous development," says the group's CEO Mikko Kilpi.
"Already during the first weeks, the entire group and the work community have transmitted an extremely good working mood. I am excited about the new and convinced that with this combination of a network and a competent team, the start of the new company will be the strongest possible," Varjanne smiles.