Online Business Plan Document

The contest in which the Dry Docks Genoa develops its business is located in the ships repair area situated in the eastern part of Genoa port. This company offers a lot of services for ships that are under repair. The Dry Docks can supply large docks that can be utilized to accommodate boats of different sizes. Instruments of raising as quay-cranes, compressed air and gas tools (used for cutting and welding plates steel) and logistic supports towards crews (mainly during the periods in which the ships are under repair) are only a few of the services that “Ente Bacini Genova” offers to its clients. Facilities consist of five dry docks and one thousand and five hundred meters utilized by ships that are waiting for their reparation-phase. The entire equipment is under a concession from the Port Authority of Genoa.

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The market taken into consideration is that one of international naval repairing. The largest harbors are equipped with different-size dry docks; dimensions are required to the last generation of ship constructions and the type of work they need. In fact, nowadays vessels as container ships (whose weight can be close to 14000 tons and whose length could be around 360 meters with breadth of 55 meters) and cruisers (able to accommodate 4000 passengers with a crew composed by almost 2000 members)  needed good and innovative structures and modern ports have to be in the position to supply this kind of services. Therefore the winning elements of a naval repairing area are extremely linked with large harbour infrastructures, logistic availability of the city considered (airports, hotels and institutional seats), with the quality of operating companies, and of course with the typical weather that marks the above-mentioned city (fundamental parameter that has to be considered before starting with the necessary operations).
Obviously such kind of activity suffers the international variations of raw materials’ costs like oil and steel. These costs affect (influence) deeply the prices that firms offer for their services. Another important issue is the national stability of the country considered. Well-organized and operative trade-union relationships between workers, firms, and government are essential elements for having success in the shipping business. 

The main goal of Dry Docks of Genoa is to improve the quality of its services and its offers. Nowadays the company is missing some points connected with the environment and security at work. There is also a lack of a large dock that could permit to host bigger ships. The management and shareholders of the company are strongly engaged in trying to trace the necessary instruments to achieve what was above-mentioned. The examined company (Ente Bacini Genova) is an S.R.L. (Private Limited Company). It has a fully pay-up share capital that comes to 300.000 Euro and a mixed stock consisting of Port Authority (56%) and Private Naval Repairers (44%). The main goal of the company, as already claimed in other sections of this business plan, is that one to supply shipyards and naval workshop with the suitable equipment for working on different-sizes ships.
Recently technical due diligence has laid bare several sensitive matters. Firstly we can notice the old age of some parts of the structure, for example, three of five dry docks have been built in 1903, so it’s evident that they need fast interventions for innovating and consolidating their conditions. The company has entered a budget of fifteen-twenty millions of Euro for realizing these maintenances in 3/5 years. The availability of funds has to be researched in the State and local authorities, through interventions of private capital within administration and organization. The Italian market competitors with the same characteristics are only located in the port of Napoli. In the other calls, the presence of dry docks and relative services are directly managed by the shipyard that has the concession for it. In these cases there is no possibility to offer a public service, a thing that instead happens in the port of Genoa. 

During the last five years, the earnings reports have been slow but steadily growing. This happened because presently ships are still considered the best instrument to transport of goods worldwide. Globalization has allowed to new huge markets, as the Chinese one, to enter overbearingly in the international sphere.
Therefore the worldwide fleet has considered important to start up orders to build innovative vessels and making safe the ships already working/sailing.

As far as the field of services is concerned, the company has already received applications for using its dry docks until the first semester of 2012. However, it is necessary to remember that some negative matters can be the cause to cancel a dry dock reservation. Among them, we can mention for example the international instability (like 11 September or other terroristic attacks), the sudden closing of the Suez Canal, the price of oil, etc.

Ente Bacini Genoa gets a monopolistic position in the national contest. In fact, it cannot have the same economic behavior of the other Italian private companies, that, having to face up to the market competition, can decide to offer their dry docks free of charge (in relation with the number of services that they are required to offer). Considering instead the other European ports (especially those located in the north), we have to effect a different interpretation. Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Hamburg are in the technological forefront and they hold an unreachable position for the Dry Docks of Genoa. Marseille, Barcelona, and Malta live contradictions so similar to Genoa’s ones. The challenge is played mainly on the due delivery’s trustworthiness of the final product.
Important additional services that can be required to a Dry Docks company are the possibility of satisfying the crew’s requests (in fact the crew lives on board of the ship during the works) and to grant security safety towards people and things. Another essential issue is represented by the capability of working respecting the main standard characters given by international organisms of control. Other interesting parameters are the capability of the company is not losing time (in fact the ships are profitable when they can sail); so companies don’t have to waste time due to spare parts delay or for instruments of work that have limited capabilities.

The organization chart of the company consists of a management that is characterized by an administrator (or General Manager) and an administrative office where five office-workers and a director of operations. Then there is a technical office made of two heads of the team, eleven electricians, three boatswains (personnel managers), twenty between sailors, crane operators and carpenters, and one maintenance-team that includes five authorized staff.
If the company will be able to build a new dry dock (characterized by important dimensions) during next years, then it should expand its staff at least of eight members. The features of these new specialists will be chosen considering the necessities connected with the building of the innovative facility.
Within a company that provides services, the cost of the work is definitely high and during the last years, it has represented at least 35% of the whole turnover. To work out the salaries the firm relies upon the Italian national contract for engineering workers, enriched by an integrative internal contract that improves considerably the wages. In fact, this type of agreement pays remarkably the overtime for all workers.
 

The company has troubles in trying to stand comparison with other international shipyards, as those situated in the north of Europe or in South Korea and China. The main causes of this backwardness have to be researched in the lack of technological innovation that is necessary for such important plant engineering. The productive process of the Dry Docks Genoa consists of receiving different-dimensions ships and, after that the boats have been docked, offers the necessary services for permitting other companies of effecting the requested interventions (following important parameters and standards set by international bodies like Bureau Veritas, RINA, LLoydd Register, ABB, etc...). The skill of the management consists in researching structural and engineering critical states and investing in the appropriate way for increasing technology and organization. In order to clarify this concept, we can proceed to report an example that considers the closing’s system of dry docks (this is fundamental for proceeding with emptying of the same dry docks). The dry docks of Ente Bacini utilize doors to close the gates (this is the most famous system used all over in the world). Such a gate is sunk at the entrance of the dry dock. Four hours are usually necessary for emptying a medium-size dry dock (250 met. x 40 met.). However, the floating dock needs two hours. 
Within shipping world time is money, so those firms who are able to save time warranting security and quality of services, are for sure winning. The same considerations have to be done with cranes, short power supply and compressed air, as well as for hot works equipment used for steel repair.

The shareholders’ meeting has recently approved a new investment plan. It establishes interventions of refit concerning the eleven cranes (around two millions of Euro) whose Ente Bacini can arrange, the making safe of the gates of each dry dock (200.000 Euro) and the complete renovation of one door (650.000 Euro). Then the company, utilizing the financial resources coming directly from the Italian government through the Port Authority, will realize the so-called “Cold Iron” (that is a mechanism of supplying for giving energy straight from shore power lines) , an important instrument necessary for closing the onboard generators, reducing in this way atmospheric emissions and consequently pollution (around 14 million of Euro). Furthermore, nine million euros have been entered for reducing pollution caused by the two dry docks closer to the city center (house settlements). 
ISP-Code systems, utilizing for controls against terroristic actions, have already been realized.
 

The company’s resources, on one hand, are distributed among the shareholders (Port Authority and other private companies) and on the other hand, they are directly a property of the Port Authority who got them through public state act. Ente Bacini, to face the forecast interventions and investments, will have to increase its capital stock and all tariffs connected with its offered services (always considering the market demand and the actual period of world economic crisis). The forecast capital increase is equal to 700.000 euro that has to be added to the current 300.000 euro. So the total amount is one million euro and it has to be entirely endorsed. The rate increase will have to be less than 10% to preserve the client base and not drive it towards other dry docks.
After one year the economic resources will be about two millions of euro and around 900.000 for all next years. This opportunity permits the company of getting the necessary resources to solve the above-mentioned structural problems (utilizing loans and financial plans as well).

The financial projections are presented below.

The elements that could endanger the Ente Bacini’s business plan are hard to identify. In fact, the services towards productive activities follow the market fluctuations and then, in presence of economic crises, either the same services or the power of the company decrease. Besides, there are critical situations that can be identified both the trade-union problem and the lack of innovative technologies regarding the plant engineering (the latter really concerns the Dry Docks of Genoa).
Therefore for getting around this, social peace is necessary and work contracts have to be appealing. Besides during the most prosperous moments the company has to be able to set aside economic resources to be used later for ordinary and extraordinary maintenance. However, the company has to entertain good relationships with the Port Authority and with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. This is indispensable because the economic strategy of ports is not merely a local problem, but nowadays it concerns the entire country and actually the whole of Europe. (The railway network, that connects from one side to the other all European ports, can be considered as an example regarding what above-mentioned).