Schottel aquires majority stake in Turkish firm

German propulsion expert Schottel has acquired the majority stake in elkon, the Turkish specialist for marine electrical system integration.

“With elkon as renowned and very successful supplier of electrical power system engineering, design and integration for vessels, we will be able to achieve this,” said Stefan Kaul, CEO of Schottel GmbH. “We will expand our portfolio to include everything regarding generation, distribution, storage and management of electrical energy on board of vessels. Schottel becomes a complete system supplier for electrical and green propulsion.”

In the overall scope of both companies, energy-efficient propulsion concepts, hybridization and electrification are now offered in a complementary way, according to Schottel. There is a particular overlap in the field of propulsion hybridization in the new build and conversion business. The customer advantage lies in the expansion of both portfolios and the possible commissioning of turnkey solutions for propulsion systems and system integration, Schottel said. On both sides, the option to integrate respective market partners remains available.

“In the past, Schottel and elkon have already been contracted independently of each other in projects on several occasions,” said Ertuğ Yaşar, Managing Director at elkon. “They involved virtually every possible vessel type, from tugs and ferries to offshore vessels. Both companies thus play an important role in the customers’ decision-making process. In the longer term, they will benefit from each other and further develop, especially towards Green Propulsion.”

In addition to the current regional focus on Europe, some Caspian Sea countries and Middle East as well as North America, the customers elkon will benefit from the global reach of the Schottel network, which includes more than 170 service engineers as well as service locations in all of the world’s important shipping centres.

“Both companies are among the competence leaders in their respective areas of influence – a position they have earned through decades of reliability and a keen focus on customer interests,” says Andreas Block, General Manager of Schottel Industries GmbH. “The focus is now on combining the competences in the long term and in letting them unfold in a financially strong environment, in order to ideally cover the future requirements.”

Schottel will take over the majority stake in elkon from the family investment house Vera Capital; the minority stake will remain with elkon’s senior engineers and management. elkon will become a legally independent subsidiary of Schottel Industries GmbH, a holding company which, in addition to Schottel GmbH, already includes companies of the automation and gearbox technology sectors.

The takeover is expected to take effect this spring, following a review by the antitrust authorities.

Founded in 1980, Elkon Elektrik (elkon) is headquartered in Tuzla (Istanbul) and has a second R&D center at Teknopark. With its subsidiary Elkon Norge AS, the specialized company is also directly available on site for customers in Norway and throughout Scandinavia.

Founded in 1921, Schottel has been developing and manufacturing azimuth propulsion and complete propulsion systems with power ratings of up to 30 MW for vessels of all sizes and types for 70 years. Around 100 sales and service locations worldwide ensure customer proximity.