Dong Fang Offshore Co., Ltd | APEA - Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards
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MASTER ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY

POLIN CHEN
CEO


Dong Fang Offshore Co., Ltd
www.dfo.com.tw


Information about the Entrepreneur
Born in Tainan, Taiwan in 1987, Polin Chen is the current CEO of Dong Fang Offshore Co., Ltd. (DFO). After graduating from junior high school, Polin went to Australia to study and only came back to Taiwan after completing his Master’s Degree. Polin majored in IT at university and for his Master’s Degree. He joined an IT company after graduating but left in order to comply with military service duties in Taiwan.

During their military service, Polin studied an Advanced Master of Business Administration course at National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, and assisted the family business on overseas coordinating jobs. After being discharged from military service, Polin decided to take a part-time job in his family’s company before he finished his study.

Polin has cultivated an interest in marine construction. Marine construction, implied in its name, works on the sea and depends on various types of vessels. With the challenges of complexity based on the sea state, each construction project is unique. These challenges encourage Polin to specialize in this industry. Thus, DFO was founded in 2019, and Polin is currently building a new team and branching out into the offshore wind industry.

Other Interesting Facts about Entrepreneur
Polin is extraordinary in his patience and calm working style. His priority is to solve the problem first followed by reviewing it and communicating patiently with the team.

As far as Polin is concerned, the most important thing for an enterprise is its culture; that is, the attitude toward work throughout the whole team. If every employee is purely working for a salary, it is hard for the team to be creative. Only when the employees love and cherish their current workplace can the goal be more consistent.
Company Achievements & Role as Entrepreneur
DFO was established by Polin in 2019 as a subsidiary of HHC (Hung Hua Construction Group), the leading Taiwanese marine construction contractor, owning and operating various types of vessels. To accommodate green energy in Taiwan, DFO was established to solely focus on the offshore wind industry.

DFO actively promotes the development of offshore wind power and collaborates closely with major developers, international EPC contractors, and turbine OEMs in the consenting, construction, and O&M phases of offshore renewable energy projects in the Asia Pacific. Via DFO’s substantial and versatile fleet of wholly-owned vessels together with a professional operations team, including CSV (Construction Support Vessel), CLV (Cable Laying Vessel), CTVs (Crew Transfer Vessels), AHTs (Anchor Handling Tugs), and Cargo Barge, DFO delivers high quality and competitively priced localized solutions to successfully meet Taiwan’s goal of over 15.5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035.

The company started in 2019 with 4 people. Today, DFO celebrates its 3-year anniversary with more than 200 employees. The company has accomplished many achievements during the last 3 years, including having “been the first owner to invest in new building offshore vessels in Taiwan in 2019” and “been the company with the most track records in Taiwan”. DFO also managed to deliver all the committed projects in a very challenging environment. DFO is now a local Taiwanese company with employees from more than 10 countries, the largest Taiwan offshore vessel owner, the first Taiwanese owner of CSV, and the only company in Taiwan with the most diversified fleet.

The company has grown from a capital of USD400 thousand to USD50 million today. However, DFO is still growing, and the company has a strong multi-cultural team that is able to ensure that the company can continue operating without compromising the standard during its rapid growth.

Vision, Mission, & Future Plans
Polin is aware of the rising offshore wind farm industry. However, the lack of capacity and core technical knowledge in Taiwan offshore marine construction is still an issue as well as the dependences on foreign vessels and investments. Thus, Polin founded DFO, hoping to build Taiwan’s own offshore fleet and promote the entire marine industry. DFO has indeed established a Taiwanese fleet and has improved its visibility globally. It is Polin’s vision to have Taiwan as a starting point and bring DFO to the global market.

“All companies start from scratch, and it is necessary to set goals bravely and chase them. The results may not be achieved, but with all the hard efforts involved, no one will be left empty-handed.” Polin shared.

MASTER ENTREPRENEUR CATEGORY

POLIN CHEN
CEO

Information about the Entrepreneur
Born in Tainan, Taiwan in 1987, Polin Chen is the current CEO of Dong Fang Offshore Co., Ltd. (DFO). After graduating from junior high school, Polin went to Australia to study and only came back to Taiwan after completing his Master’s Degree. Polin majored in IT at university and for his Master’s Degree. He joined an IT company after graduating but left in order to comply with military service duties in Taiwan.

During their military service, Polin studied an Advanced Master of Business Administration course at National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, and assisted the family business on overseas coordinating jobs. After being discharged from military service, Polin decided to take a part-time job in his family’s company before he finished his study.

Polin has cultivated an interest in marine construction. Marine construction, implied in its name, works on the sea and depends on various types of vessels. With the challenges of complexity based on the sea state, each construction project is unique. These challenges encourage Polin to specialize in this industry. Thus, DFO was founded in 2019, and Polin is currently building a new team and branching out into the offshore wind industry.

Other Interesting Facts about Entrepreneur
Polin is extraordinary in his patience and calm working style. His priority is to solve the problem first followed by reviewing it and communicating patiently with the team.

As far as Polin is concerned, the most important thing for an enterprise is its culture; that is, the attitude toward work throughout the whole team. If every employee is purely working for a salary, it is hard for the team to be creative. Only when the employees love and cherish their current workplace can the goal be more consistent.

Dong Fang Offshore Co., Ltd
www.dfo.com.tw


Company Achievements & Role as Entrepreneur
DFO was established by Polin in 2019 as a subsidiary of HHC (Hung Hua Construction Group), the leading Taiwanese marine construction contractor, owning and operating various types of vessels. To accommodate green energy in Taiwan, DFO was established to solely focus on the offshore wind industry.

DFO actively promotes the development of offshore wind power and collaborates closely with major developers, international EPC contractors, and turbine OEMs in the consenting, construction, and O&M phases of offshore renewable energy projects in the Asia Pacific. Via DFO’s substantial and versatile fleet of wholly-owned vessels together with a professional operations team, including CSV (Construction Support Vessel), CLV (Cable Laying Vessel), CTVs (Crew Transfer Vessels), AHTs (Anchor Handling Tugs), and Cargo Barge, DFO delivers high quality and competitively priced localized solutions to successfully meet Taiwan’s goal of over 15.5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2035.

The company started in 2019 with 4 people. Today, DFO celebrates its 3-year anniversary with more than 200 employees. The company has accomplished many achievements during the last 3 years, including having “been the first owner to invest in new building offshore vessels in Taiwan in 2019” and “been the company with the most track records in Taiwan”. DFO also managed to deliver all the committed projects in a very challenging environment. DFO is now a local Taiwanese company with employees from more than 10 countries, the largest Taiwan offshore vessel owner, the first Taiwanese owner of CSV, and the only company in Taiwan with the most diversified fleet.

The company has grown from a capital of USD400 thousand to USD50 million today. However, DFO is still growing, and the company has a strong multi-cultural team that is able to ensure that the company can continue operating without compromising the standard during its rapid growth.

Vision, Mission, & Future Plans
Polin is aware of the rising offshore wind farm industry. However, the lack of capacity and core technical knowledge in Taiwan offshore marine construction is still an issue as well as the dependences on foreign vessels and investments. Thus, Polin founded DFO, hoping to build Taiwan’s own offshore fleet and promote the entire marine industry. DFO has indeed established a Taiwanese fleet and has improved its visibility globally. It is Polin’s vision to have Taiwan as a starting point and bring DFO to the global market.

“All companies start from scratch, and it is necessary to set goals bravely and chase them. The results may not be achieved, but with all the hard efforts involved, no one will be left empty-handed.” Polin shared.