After 33 years in the service of SAL Heavy Lift, and 16 years after taking over the management of the company, Lars Rolner has decided to pass on his duties as Managing Director and COO of SAL Heavy Lift to his colleague Toshio Yamazaki. Yamazaki, despatched from “K” Line, has 29 years of experience in the shipping business. He is acquainted very well with the company, having spent the last four years as Executive Officer jointly managing SAL Heavy Lift from the German headquarters. Even before, he worked at SAL Japan as Commercial General Manager for four years.
As he symbolically “handed over the reins”, Lars Rolner (53) commented: “I have devoted most of my life to SAL. But now, I have decided it is time to hand over my position, because the company is now in good shape and will be in the black in 2014.” In future, Lars Rolner will work as Managing Partner of the maritime engineering company HeavyLift@Sea, which specialises in offshore solutions and ship design.
Toshio Yamazaki (55) is intending to keep the direction of the company which was jointly established with Lars Rolner: “We offer the utmost quality for our customers. On this basis, we will continue to develop SAL Heavy Lift further and progress directly along the path we have chosen.” The experienced shipping expert builds on the similar values of German and Japanese colleagues and employees: “Both cultures appreciate innovation and precision. This applies to all of our people at SAL including our onboard crew as well as to our engineers and staff working on shore. We are all dedicated to providing innovative solutions in heavy-lift shipping.”
SAL Heavy Lift, a member of the “K” Line Group, is one of the leading international shipping companies in the area of heavy-lift transportation and project freight, and is based in Hamburg’s HafenCity. It operates a fleet of 18 heavy-lifters. The company, which was founded in 1980, employs 700 people worldwide including vessel crew.
