Launching a new venture: Kongsberg opens shipboard simulation training facility in Groton

January 16, 2015 11:00 pm • Last Updated: January 16, 2015 11:52 pm

By By LEE HOWARD Day Staff Writer

Dr. Nicholas J. Spera, principal of the Marine Science Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut, looks at the latest ship bridge simulator on display at Kongsberg Maritime Simulation's new building Friday in Groton.

Groton - A Norway-based company that had been quietly building up its maritime clientele out of a building at Mystic Shipyard for nearly a quarter of a century finally came out of its shell Friday as officials showed off a new 10,000-square-foot building near Groton-New London Airport that houses production and design work for shipboard simulation training.

Kongsberg Maritime Simulation Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational Kongsberg Corp., moved into the specially designed building in August, but held its grand opening celebration Friday, inviting customers and local officials to get a taste for the simulation equipment being produced there.

"Simulation technology is really the way we reduce accidents and train people on multibillion-dollar ships," said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, one of the speakers. "The work here is important to the seapower of this nation."

Clayton S. Burry, acting general manager and vice president of sales for Kongsberg in the Americas, said in an interview earlier this week that the company locally does a large part of its business with the Coast Guard and Navy, as well as having simulators at maritime academies, training schools and even the Marine Science Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut.

Kongsberg has 21 local employees but is growing quickly, officials said, and expects to add up to another half dozen positions in the coming months. Five people in Groton are working on developing simulation graphics or visual databases, and the operation also employs sales and marketing people, computer technicians and project managers - several of them ex-Navy personnel and some former students at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point.

Worldwide, the company has nearly 7,700 employees in more than 25 countries on every continent and is considered the world's largest maritime electronics corporation.

Inside the new headquarters building Friday, employees walked guests through the main demo room where product support technicians Conor Dempsey and Erik Bentley gave a quick overview of a simulation platform that includes three-dimensional video projections of a waterway as well as realistic electronic charts, radar and other equipment. The projections can demonstrate changes in weather and time of day as well as adjusting for different water conditions, from a light chop to big swells, and there is the option to install flooring that mimics the movement of the water.

"We want it to be like a real vessel," Dempsey said.

The simulators can be especially valuable when dealing with what's known as dynamic positioning - moving a ship next to an oil rig, for instance.

Other uses of the technology include crane simulation, cargo handling and dealing with engine room issues.

Because Kongsberg also manufactures maritime electronics and components, what students see in a simulator is an exact replica of the equipment found in the ships they will later be called upon to operate, said Herbert F. Taylor, vice president of operations.

"Most of the world's ports and waterways already have been modeled," Burry said, including the Thames River between Groton and New London.

A few of the databases are restricted because some work is proprietary to the U.S. Navy, Burry said.

At the front end, Kongsberg uses Google Earth to develop the visual databases, but it also sends out photographers using special geo-referencing cameras for photo shoots that provide realistic images. Underwater charts are then layered on top of the visuals to provide a view of the topography that cannot be seen.

Burry said Kongsberg employees loved the old offices overlooking Long Island Sound, but the new space provides a place to assemble and test simulation systems before sending them off to customers. The company's simulation work is now solely centered at the offices in the Airport Business Park on a parcel of land that could allow for a doubling of the current space in the near future.

Burry said Kongsberg officials were high on staying in the Groton area because of its central location between New York and Boston and the availability of a talented and experienced workforce.

"We think it's a really cool place," Burry said. "I can't wait to go to work in the morning."

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow