May 27, 2009 : Company announcement
The "Gasthaus Foerdeblick" restaurant uses Consist software
Watch ships - live and digital - while banqueting in Kiel
Visitors to the Foerdeblick receive exact information about the ships currently passing by. The Kiel IT company Consist has provided its online ship information system to make that a possibility.
Kiel – Restaurant visitors to the "Gasthaus Foerdeblick" in Kiel-Holtenau can not only observe the different ships traversing between the Kiel Canal and the Inner and Outer Fjord live from the window or from the terrace, but also see them beforehand on monitors in the restaurant. The online ship information system (SIS) by the Kiel software company Consist Software Solutions uses a Google Earth map to present information about each ship, such as its name, type, length, and width – in many cases including a photo. Visitors can often see on the screen which ferries and freighters will be passing when the ships themselves are only specks on the water. This is a new possibility, and one unique to Kiel, both for tourists and for ship lovers and photo enthusiasts.
"This is like a modern form of greeting ships – digital and unobtrusive. The ship information system really pleases our visitors," explains Rainer Jacken, the owner of the Gasthaus Foerdeblick. The restaurant, established in Kiel-Holtenau and reopened in 2008, is directly at the entrance to the Kiel Canal, enabling a view of most of the shipping traffic there.
The Port of Kiel is the most popular of the German cruise ports. For 2009, there are 117 arrivals planned, with two days even seeing four different passenger ships in port at the same time (May 20 and July 26). Then there are the regular large ferries of the Stena line, the cruise ferries of the Color line, and the ferry ships to the Baltic states.
Consist supports the region
"On the one hand, we want our IT solutions for maritime business to see wider publicity. And on the other, this lets us be more engaged with the region, highlighting its attractiveness," says Consist managing director Martin Lochte-Holtgreven. The company is proud of its headquarters in Kiel, even basing its corporate identity strongly on the maritime character of the location, with traditional events at sea and a maritime graphical presentation.
Presentation is up-to-date and custom-made
The ship information system used at the Gasthaus Foerdeblick is especially customized to the needs of the restaurant. Exactly those ships are displayed on the screen which visitors will actually be able to see live on the water. The software provides up-to-date information, automatically showing details on the ships currently located in the viewing area. Martin Lochte-Holtgreven himself took the photos displayed in his free time, as an enthusiastic amateur ship photographer.
The SIS has run in a similar form for about half a year on the home pages of the Kieler Nachrichten newspaper (www.kn-online.de/schiffe) and Consist (www.consist.de/www/en/info_center/schiffsinformationssystem.html). It can be used by the public there as an interactive version, and now the user can switch between map, satellite, or topographic views.
Consists provides its software for other distinctive observation locations and restaurants.
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In the restaurant "Gasthaus Foerdeblick": Rainer Jacken (left), owner of the Foerdeblick, and Consist managing director Martin Lochte-Holtgreven (right) are happy about the success of the ship information system. You can receive the picture als jpg or tif on request.
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Press Contact
Consist
Software Solutions GmbH
Isabel Vollmann
Falklandstrasse 1-3
24159 Kiel, Germany
Phone:
+49 (0)431 / 3993-525
Fax:
+49 (0)431 / 3993-999
vollmann@consist.de
