Wärtsilä Licensees Conference 2011
The three day conference for Wärtsilä’s 2-stroke engine licensees at Wärtsilä Italia premises in Trieste was held from September 18-21. The conference was organised by Wärtsilä’s “Centre of Excellence for 2-stroke engines” located in Winterthur, Switzerland.
The President and CEO of Wärtsilä Corporation, Björn Rosengren, welcomed the guests in the auditorium with his keynote speech. Next to take the floor was Martin Wernli, President of Wärtsilä Switzerland, who introduced the conference with the topic: “Wärtsilä low-speed engines: Progress – Power– Performance – success through partnership”.
Among the 140 participants were high ranking delegations from 17 licensees, including managing directors and top management delegates who came mainly from Asia (China, Korea, Japan) but also from Brazil, Croatia and Poland. Also top management representatives of Wärtsilä Corporation, Wärtsilä Switzerland, Wärtsilä Italia as well as employees who are in daily contact with the licensees attended the event.
During the conference Wärtsilä presented the latest developments in the 2-stroke engine market, new products and technologies, with particular emphasis on environmental aspects. Much appreciated by the participants was the visit to the Trieste factory, starting from the goods delivery area, leading on to the pre-assembly and assembly areas, to the test area and then to the recent Lips Modular Thrusters (LMT) facility.
The factory tour ended in the Research & Development laboratory area where the new 2-stroke gas technology, currently under development, was tested on the RTX5 2-stroke engine. In doing so, Wärtsilä is investing in new innovative technologies and, therefore, in the future of the 2-stroke business. The testing of the engine was a highlight for all guests. As the engine was started they all watched the monitoring graph showing the switch from heavy fuel to gas operation mode, with simultaneous reduction of NOx emission levels down to zero.
The conference, organised by Wärtsilä in Switzerland and held in Italy, is a perfect example of what is meant by the “One Wärtsilä” spirit. The strong cooperation and integration between offices in different countries makes it easier to face the future challenges, in which the Company will put even more emphasis on research of flexible solutions to improve efficiency and reduce pollution. Wärtsilä closely cooperates with licensees, shipping companies and shipyards to ensure the best design, production and installation of its engines.