Two boats have been built for the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-2009. Some 50 people spent a total of 35,000 hours working on the boats between February 2007 and 25 June this year. The boatyard has closed now.
What does that mean for Coor?
“The yard itself is closing, but not the office. The office will remain open throughout the Volvo Ocean Race and will act as the team’s fixed office base. We’ll be continuing to provide services for the office”, Monica Sandström, Customer Coordinator responsible for service delivery for Ericsson Racing Team.
What has it been like to deliver services for a boatyard?
“The fact that Ericsson built the boats near its head office stimulated positive attention and attracted many visitors, around 15,000 in all. Obviously that was good for us as the service supplier for both Ericsson and the boatyard. Dealing with Ericsson’s events in the premises and delivering day-to-day services for the boatyard, for instance, brought extra work and fresh challenges. We had excellent contact with the boatbuilding team. They had a nice straightforward approach to most things, which helped our job run smoothly and made life easier. Well, as long there was ‘builder’s tea’ around – the workers weren’t exactly keen on fruit teas and infusions.”
Any particularly memorable occasions?
“The whole period was very special, from the first time the first boat was unofficially taken out and turned around, to a few more unusual events we assisted at. One was the VIP lunch for the Paralympic athletes who’ll be representing Sweden in Beijing, and Crown Princess Victoria.
“It was very exciting to be able to track the progress of the boats being built for a tremendously tough challenge like the Volvo Ocean Race. It was a positive, educational time for me and many of my co-workers at Coor.”
Previously published
Coor is sponsoring Ericsson Racing Team
