Tillberg Design of Sweden has expanded to provide high-quality design services to maritime clients
By
Rebecca Gibson |
This article was first published in the Spring/Summer 2016 issue of International Cruise & Ferry Review. All information was correct at the time of printing, but may since have changed.
Despite providing architecture and interior design services to major operators in the passenger shipping industry for more than five decades, Swedish company Tillberg Design of Sweden (TDoS) shows no signs of slowing down.
Spearheaded by its three equal part-owners Michal Jackiewicz, Karin Falk and Fredrik Johansson, TDoS continues to innovate and has expanded from 20 to 70 team members over the past two years alone. The company’s recent rapid growth is the result of long-term strategic planning, shrewd investments and determination. Its partners used the somewhat slow period between 2009 and 2011 to analyse the efficiency of all parts of the business and build up a solid foundation of structural capital to ensure the company could handle future growth. Since then, they have upgraded organisational capacity, appointed Stefan Nilsson as deputy CEO and implemented new planning and business management tools.
In 2012, TDoS opened a design office in Wroclaw, Poland to support its main team at its headquarters in Höganäs, Sweden. The Polish office has quickly established itself as an attractive and creative place to work, attracting some of the region’s most innovative and talented designers. Recently, after years of careful consideration and analysis, the company also established a sales division in Miami, US.
“Now that we’re located in close proximity to many of the major players in the cruise and ferry industries, we know more about what’s happening and we’re able to provide better design services to our clients more quickly,” says Johansson.
Jackiewic adds: “The fact that there is no time zone difference has also proven priceless. To be on quick standby for ship surveys, project start-ups or design workshops is a huge advantage.”
TDoS has also invested in improving its team’s creative skills. All new recruits must complete an advanced training programme over two to three months to familiarise themselves with the company’s corporate goals and philosophy, and ensure that they have the necessary design and drawing skills to complete high-quality projects. They must also learn how to cultivate, and subsequently apply, the best work ethic when dealing with their colleagues and, most importantly, the clients.
Seasoned employees, many of whom have been at the company for between ten and 30 years, also play an instrumental role in crew training, sharing their expertise and helping to ensure that all products meet TDoS’s quality standards.
“The cruise industry shows no signs of slowing down as 24 million passengers are expected to sail in 2016, up from 15 million in 2006,” says Johansson. “The accelerating pace of newbuild orders also means that more cruise operators will be looking to revitalise more of their vessels to ensure that their entire fleet remains fresh and appealing to guests.”
Jackiewicz concurs, adding: “We see a continually growing demand for our design from new and old clients, and we are steadily gaining market shares within both newbuild and refurbishments.The TDoS saga continues to evolve, and with the current outlook and to quote American mining engineer and author Rossiter Worthington Raymond, ‘a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight’”.
The forecast certainly looks bright for this iconic and multinational group of creative minds.