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GerMAny
Hinneberg family
Hinneberg family offers
the personal touch
Tightknit team at Hamburg shipbroker
HINNEBERG is not exactly a household name in shipping
circles. Yet for some of the most powerful shipowners in the
business, the Hamburg shipbroker Walter J Hinneberg is
second to none. For the past 60 years, this discreet firm has
been at the heart of newbuilding negotiations, concentrating
in particular on the containership sector.
The walls of the modest-sized offices on the Ballindamm are
lined with hundreds of photos of ships representing just some of
those whose order, sale or purchase they have handled. Yet the
firm manages to maintain a remarkably low profile, undoubtedly
helped by the fact that the entire workforce consists of only a
handful of staff – four brokers and two secretaries.
When founder Walter Hinneberg snr died eight years ago,
his twin sons Christian and John Walter continued to run the
business. Only recently have they added some fresh blood,
including Christian’s son Paul who completed a two-year
shipping trainee programme run by Hamburg Süd before
joining the firm in 2009, and Leo Von Ruffin Zisiadis.
Paul Hinneberg says he never felt pushed to become a
broker, but with connections to shipping on both sides of the
family, “it was a natural path to follow”.
His paternal grandfather had a fascinating history. Walter
Hinneberg snr qualified as a chemist before stumbling into
shipping through a friend whose family had lost its fleet during
the Second World War and wanted to rebuild it. Then came a
chance meeting that was to change his life forever.
Mr Hinneberg snr had been attending a reception on board
a tanker ordered by Aristotle Onassis from the Howaldtswerke
Hamburg shipyard. Afterwards, he offered a lift to the head
of Howaldtswerke Kiel, who was keen to build up his city’s
shipbuilding industry. And that was the start of a shipbroking
firm that has gone from strength to strength ever since.
While Germany’s shipbuilding activities may have waned,
the Hinnebergs forged close links with South Korean shipyards
as shipowners began to place orders in Asia rather than Europe.
Walter J Hinneberg remained active in the business until he
died in 2004, with his children maintaining the trust and loyalty
of those who had worked with their father over the years.
And now the third generation is moving into a business that
has played a pivotal role in the growth of container shipping
but has managed to retain the personal touch that only a small
family unit can genuinely provide.
Paul Hinneberg believes the firm has flourished by focusing
on a few clients rather than trying to do everything.
And while family connections will open doors, his challenge
now is to establish a client base of his own.
GerMAny
Jan Meyer
Seventh
generation steps
up at Meyer Werft
Jan Meyer takes top management role
GerMAny
Meyer Werft managing directors:
Jan Meyer, Bernard Meyer and
Lambert Kruse
THE German shipbuilding industry has been decimated
over past decades but one family-owned yard in Papenburg,
far away from the North Sea coast, has resisted this negative
trend. Today, Meyer Werft focuses on cruiseships and has
become the most well-known shipbuilder in Germany and
yard’s management team has recently been boosted with
the addition of another Meyer family member.
Since 1982, Bernard Meyer has been the public face of
the yard, which was set up in 1795. Thirty years later, his
son Jan, one of the entrepreneur’s five children, has been
appointed a managing director. The 35-year-old has worked
for the family company since 2008, most recently heading
the technical offices responsible for the construction of
cruiseships.
Prior to joining Meyer Werft, Jan Meyer completed his
masters studies in naval architecture at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology in Boston. He then gained experience
working for yards in South Korea and Denmark. He did his
doctorate closer to home at Jacobs University in Bremen.
When the appointment was announced, Meyer Werft
said its “management will be rejuvenated and extended
in order to meet the challenges of the hard international
competition”.
So far, Meyer Werft has coped well with market
challenges. The yard has relocated from the heart of the city
to the outskirts and resisted demands to set up shop closer
to the sea.
Bernard Meyer has certainly made his mark during his
tenure — a mere three years after he took the helm, the yard
delivered its first cruise newbuilding — and all eyes are now
focused on what seventh-generation Jan can deliver.
next generation 2012 21