PipeCloud signs deal with Norway’s Ulstein Verft shipyard

PipeCloud has signed a deal with Ulstein Verft shipyard, one of the oldest and most respected shipyards in the Norwegian maritime industry

PipeCloud and Ulstein Verft have signed a deal that will see Ulstein take the PipeCloud prefabricated piping software solution into use for its pipe production unit.

The software is licensed as a SaaS model and will be taken into use starting in April 2022. Ulstein will use the PipeCloud software to plan its pipe shop resources and materials as well as human resources with much greater efficiency.

Ulstein Verft is a subsidiary of Ulstein Group, a shipbuilding and ship design company founded in Norway in 1917. The company started out modifying local fishing boats transitioning from sail-power to motorization, but now focuses on innovative ship design, power and control systems, and shipbuilding.

“We needed to renew the software and re-plan the pipe shop here at Ulstein. The software we were using was out of date and didn’t have the resource planning that the PipeCloud software offers. We could have upgraded the old software, but the resource planning and PipeCloud’s SaaS pricing model was a key factor in the deal”, says Gaute Gaudestad, IT Team Manager at Ulstein.

Ulstein has an ongoing license to use the PipeCloud software and they will begin the integration project at the end of April 2022. The software will allow Ulstein to plan their piping prefabrication and resources much more efficiently, as well as monitoring production.

“We had a chance to get to know the software a little before we went ahead with the deal. It was a good learning process for both parties. Ulstein’s way of doing things is different than Pipecloud’s, but they are a very experienced and skilled team. We had some deep technical questions and they had the answers. And even when they didn’t, they were very happy to discuss the issues so we could find solutions together”, Gaudestad explains.

“We have a good feeling about this deal; it’s a step in the right direction”, he concludes.

PipeCloud is also happy about the deal.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Ulstein has chosen us as their partners for our PipeCloud software. Ulstein is our first international customer, and is such a well-respected shipbuilder in the industry. They have been frontrunners in innovative ship design and digitalization”, says Jarno Soinila, CEO at PipeCloud.

“Piping prefabrication is always more efficient to do in the workshop than on site. The spools are always unique pieces, and this uniqueness makes piping for ships challenging to industrialize. Our PipeCloud software utilizes 3D design data, geometric data, and data from Ulstein’s pipe production unit to control and manage the production and workflows”, Soinila continues.

PipeCloud is a startup company founded in 2018 and developed at Ardor, the largest marine pipe prefabrication company in Finland. PipeCloud offers its proprietary software for managing the entire pipe fabrication process as a SaaS service.

“We had a good response from Ulstein very early on in the process. This is a big deal for us at PipeCloud. An independent and very well-respected player in the industry has chosen us as their software solution partner. That is huge and proves that we have achieved product-market fit, and that we have a customer base for our products and services”, Soinila concludes.

More information:

Jarno Soinila
CEO, PipeCloud
jarno.soinila@pipecloud.fi
+358405179502

Gaute Gaudestad
Team Manager IT
gaute.gaudestad@ulstein.com
Mob: +47 909 56 123