Happy 10-year anniversary HEMEXPO!
On 3 December 2023, B2Sea proudly organised HEMEXPO’s 10th-anniversary event at the emblematic Skaramangas Shipyards in Athens. This milestone celebration honoured a decade of innovation and global excellence by the Hellenic Marine Equipment Manufacturers & Exporters. Under the theme “10 Years of SEAnergies”, the event showcased HEMEXPO’s pivotal role in advancing Greece’s marine equipment industry and its substantial contributions to the global maritime sector.
As the event’s organiser, B2Sea ensured a seamless and impactful experience that reflected HEMEXPO’s legacy and future aspirations. The event featured the cutting-edge products that are manufactured by Greek manufacturers and spotlighted HEMEXPO’s key achievements, including exporting cutting-edge marine equipment to over 10,000 vessels worldwide and contributing €2 billion to Greece’s economy in 2022 alone. A roadmap for the next decade was also unveiled, emphasising goals such as boosting exports, fostering innovation, and strengthening global partnerships.
Distinguished attendees included government officials, shipping community leaders, and representatives from HEMEXPO’s 32 member companies. The Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Mr Christos Stylianides, the Chairman and CEO of Skaramangas Shipyards, Mr Georgios Prokopiou and Mr Miltiadis Varvitsiotis; HEMEXPO’s visionary founder Capt. Panagiotis Tsakos; staunch supporter Mr Simeon Palios were among the prominent figures who celebrated this landmark occasion. The event was moderated by journalist Ms Katerina Tsamouri.
B2Sea is honoured to have been part of this momentous event, celebrating HEMEXPO’s remarkable journey and supporting its vision for the future.
Here’s to a prosperous decade ahead!
The Birth of HEMEXPO
HEMEXPO’s journey began a decade ago, rooted in a vision sparked by Captain Panagiotis Tsakos in 2013. The idea was born when Captain Tsakos discovered that the ships he had built in Romania were equipped with mattresses manufactured in Korea. A patriotic and dynamic leader, the Tsakos Group founder immediately questioned whether Greece produced mattresses—and if so, why equipment had been chosen from distant Korea instead of being sourced from Greek manufacturers.
It turned out that Greece did produce high-quality and competitively priced mattresses—and much more. Captain Tsakos shared his vision and entrusted Eleni Polychronopoulou, now HEMEXPO President, with the crucial task of establishing the association. A year later, in 2014, HEMEXPO became a reality.
During his subsequent travels to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, Captain Tsakos raised the issue with Asian shipyards, shared his vision with other Greek shipowners, and—with the full support of then-President Karolos Papoulias—facilitated HEMEXPO’s first business missions.
Similarly, Simeon Palios took steps to advance the cause, formally presenting the matter to the Chinese government during the signing ceremony with The Export-Import Bank of China.
Captain Tsakos’s vision, wholeheartedly supported by Greek shipowners, led to the creation of HEMEXPO.
