Wärtsilä inaugurated yesterday a new workshop in Manaus, Brazil, to serve the growing number of customers in the Amazon region of Brazil.
At present there are 17 power plants designed and installed by Wärtsilä in Brazil. They have a combined generating capacity of more than 780 MWe. The largest of the plants is the 157 MWe Rio Negro power plant in Manaus itself, which operates 24 hours a day. Three of these 17 power plants run on natural gas and the others on heavy or light fuel oil.
“Energy and marine markets in Brazil have developed and created new needs in terms of operation and management (O&M) services, technical expertise and lifecycle support,” says Tage Blomberg, Group Vice President, Services. “Wärtsilä offers a full range of professional products and services to address these needs and naturally invests to accompany the Brazilian business growth.”
The total installed capacity in the Manaus Energia grid in the Amazon region is 1200 MWe with an average load of approximately 900 MWe of which 415 MWe is operated, manned and maintained by Wärtsilä under O&M agreements. Services are provided to many more. The work involved in these service agreements will be managed from the new Manaus workshop.
“We opened our first branch office in 1998 in Manaus. The current investment in the new workshop was required to renew our commitment to customers in the Amazon region with their additional installed plant. With this investment we will bring first-class service for the electricity generation industry as well as for river traffic in the region” says, Tomas Hakala, President of Wärtsilä in Brazil. Currently, Wärtsilä has 180 dedicated employees working at the new Manaus workshop.
Training for customers and Wärtsilä employees in the Land and Sea Academy
An important aspect of the work at the Manaus workshop will be the Wärtsilä Land & Sea Academy training facilities for training both local Wärtsilä employees and the customers’ staff. The emphasis in the training programmes will be on maintenance, safety, plant operations, plant management and first aid.
Wärtsilä in Brazil
Wärtsilä has more than 400 employees in Brazil. In addition to Manaus, Wärtsilä Brazil has operations in Rio de Janeiro and the state of Pernambuco. Apart from the extent of Wärtsilä’s power plant and services business, Wärtsilä also has a growing marine business in Brazil. This is especially true in the offshore market. The Brazilian shipbuilding industry is also re-emerging. It is being developed to meet the needs of both deep-sea and coastal shipping.
For further information, please contact:
Mr Atte Palomäki, Group Vice president, Corporate Communications,
tel: +358 10 7095599
About Wärtsilä Corporation:
Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is achieved by the dedication of more than 16,000 professionals manning 150 Wärtsilä locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on The Nordic Exchange in Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com
