101 The SMS Marine Interiors team working on the refurbishment of the French Kiss restaurant, part of the project onboard AIDAdiva challenges. Completing the same projects across three ships required a high degree of planning, coordination and execution, but also afforded us the opportunity to work closely with our supply chain and manufacturers to refine and engineer solutions quickly. “SMS Marine Interiors has reached a stage now where the business is scalable, delivering multiple projects simultaneously across the globe.” As the saying goes, ‘success breeds success’, and SMS has been rehired for the next phase of AIDA Evolution projects, covering AIDAblu, AIDAsol, AIDAmar and AIDAstella. “It’s great to be able to take all that knowledge, the lessons learned, refinement and engineering to the remaining ships in the series,” says McCarthy. “More brands like AIDA Cruises and Holland America Line are introducing these evolution-style initiatives for their ships that are reaching the middle, or the second half, of their operating lives,” says McCarthy. “Undertaking these high-profile and large-scale projects is exactly what we are striving towards. Having that pipeline is great and building those relationships with those types of brands only further strengthens our business and offering.” Demonstrating its ambition, when Harland & Wolff went bankrupt in 2024, SMS Group took on the US side of its operations. “It’s a key facility for us given a lot of cruise lines are based in the USA – it’s in Tampa and currently serves shipyards in Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi,” says McCarthy. Proven in supporting brands with transformational refurbishments, SMS Marine Interiors is a growing presence in the industry, and its expertise and experience is allowing SMS to progress onto bigger, bolder and more challenging projects. “But not everything can wait until a dry docking, and that plays to our hard surface repair services, further underpinning our commitment and versatility when it comes to serving brands globally,” says McCarthy. “A key focus for us is to deliver a bestin-class service within the marine sector, as well as continue to attract the very best talent into the business.” Photo: SMS Marine Interiors Photo: SMS Marine Interiors “ Undertaking these high-profile and large-scale projects is exactly what we are striving towards”
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