Wind, weather, rough seas or even salt water – containers in the maritime sector and on the high seas are exposed to particular challenges. This is why ELA founded ELA Container Offshore GmbH 10 years ago to offer room solutions for the offshore industry.
The history of the offshore business at ELA Container began back in 2008 with the first major order for crew accommodation for almost 200 employees on the Blue Giant dock ship in the Gulf of Mexico. Soon after this, a small ELA team began developing a standardized container with special features for use at sea – the 20ft ELA Offshore Allrounder. The offshore container complies with all relevant offshore regulations and requirements in terms of equipment, prescribed materials and dimensions. The 20ft ELA Offshore Allrounder was launched in mid-2011 and laid the foundation for being able to rent and sell room solutions on seagoing vessels and platforms in the future. Alongside the offshore container itself, components such as stairways and gangways were developed in order to be able to realize multi-storey container systems.
“From that point onwards, we invested a lot in sales and made a name for ourselves in the industry,” says Hans Gatzemeier, Managing Director of ELA Container Offshore. In 2012, there was another large-scale project from a Mexican company that needed an accommodation solution for 216 extra employees on an offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico. This involved the use of 54 ELA offshore containers.
In 2013, ELA secured another major order as part of commissioning a converter platform in the North Sea. ELA leased a total of 30 offshore containers, six stairways and 72 gangways for a three-storey accommodation solution, built on the platform. In the same year, ELA received the order for a three-storey room solution on a working ship.
It was the increasing demand for mobile room solutions for the offshore market that ultimately led to the founding of ELA Container Offshore GmbH in 2014. This was ELA’s response to the increasing demand for accommodation containers on platforms and vessels, particularly from the energy industry. “The market for offshore applications for our products is so large and at the same time so unique that it made sense to set up a separate, specialized company,” says Günter Albers, Managing Partner. Since its humble beginnings, Günter Albers and Managing Director Hans Gatzemeier have led ELA Container Offshore GmbH in a co-management relationship.
Since then, the container specialists at ELA Container Offshore have continuously developed and improved the products. The rental fleet is made up of more than 1,000 containers including accessories in offshore specification, which are available for fast and flexible use.
But it should not remain limited to Germany and the 20ft ELA Offshore Allrounder. In 2016, ELA Container Offshore USA Corp. was founded to evaluate acceptance in the US market by running a sample system on a rented site and taking part in a trade fair. Breaking into the US market resulted in orders from as far away as Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean.
As more and more special room solutions were required for team accommodation, the product portfolio was expanded. The 33ft ELA Offshore Premium Plus container was rolled out in 2016. This design offered more comfort with its dimensions. An alternative version to the 20ft offshore model followed in 2019. What we call the 20ft ELA Offshore Light Container was specially developed for onshore and nearshore use.
At its headquarters in Haren (Ems), Germany, ELA Container Offshore GmbH built its own brand new production hall in 2017, which was doubled in size at the beginning of 2023 in order to increase production capacity in response to rising demand.
“Before the company was founded in 2014, we would never have dreamed that the market would develop so rapidly,” says Managing Director of ELA Container Offshore, Hans Gatzemeier. ELA Container’s experience and expertise as well as close partnerships have ensured that ELA Container Offshore has been able to steadily increase its share of this market. “This has made the offshore division an essential part of the ELA family,” says Gatzemeier.
You can find out more about the anniversary of ELA Container Offshore at https://www.ela-offshore.com/en/10-years-anniversary
Your contact partner
Mareike Müller, ELA Offshore Press
Tel: +49 5932 7323-500
marketing@ela-offshore.com
