Wärtsilä and Zhenjiang CME Co Ltd (CME) have today jointly signed a licence agreement for the manufacture and sale of Wärtsilä RT-flex low-speed marine diesel engines by CME in China.
The agreement grants CME the right to manufacture all sizes of Wärtsilä RT-flex modern low-speed engine types at its new factory in Zhenjiang. However, CME will focus on engines of 50 cm cylinder bore and smaller. The main attraction of the new licence agreement for CME is the Wärtsilä RT-flex engines with common-rail technology. This is the latest technology for low-speed diesel engines incorporating full electronic control of engine processes.
The new manufacturing capacity of CME will make a significant contribution to the delivery of Wärtsilä low-speed marine engines to the rapidly growing shipbuilding industry in China.
The agreement was signed by Mr Yang Jia Feng, General Manager of CME, and Mr Martin Wernli, President of Wärtsilä in Switzerland, during the Wärtsilä Chinese Licence Conference held in the Lijiang in northwestern Yunnan province.
“The new agreement with Wärtsilä is a welcome development for CME as it makes it possible for our company to deliver today’s most advanced low-speed diesel engines to our shipyard customers. It will keep CME at the forefront of marine equipment suppliers to the Chinese shipbuilding industry”, said Mr Yang Jia Feng.
“Wärtsilä already has a business partnership with CME in the manufacture of propellers and it is a pleasure to be able to develop this partnership further and to increase the manufacturing volume for smaller Wärtsilä common-rail low-speed engines. We look forward to a long-lasting fruitful partnership”, said Mr Martin Wernli.
The new licensee is located at Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province up the Yangtze River from Shanghai. CME, as a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), has been manufacturing four-stroke engines from another designer for many years, and is building a new factory on a 250,000 m2 site at Zhenjiang for the manufacture of low-speed engines. The first engines are planned to be completed in the second half of 2009. The new factory will have an initial capacity to build engines with an aggregate output of about 300,000 bhp (220 MW), later increasing to one million brake horsepower (735 MW).
Support for the manufacture of Wärtsilä low-speed engines will be provided by Wärtsilä’s Switzerland company, which is the group’s centre of excellence for the design, development, research, marketing, licensing, servicing and support of Wärtsilä low-speed engines.
Information on the joint venture company Wartsila CME Zhenjiang Propeller Co Ltd can be found in the press release of 28 June 2007 at:
Wärtsilä opens a new propeller factory in China – production capacity will double
Media contact:
Martin Wernli
President
Wärtsilä Switzerland Ltd
Direct tel: +41 52 262 2686
e-mail: martin.wernli@wartsila.com
Yang Jia Feng
General Manager
Zhenjiang CME Co Ltd
Direct tel: +86 511 8451 1880
e-mail: zjcme@zjcme.cn
Marit Holmlund-Sund
Public Relations Manager
Wärtsilä Corporation
Direct tel: +358 10 709 1439
Direct fax: +358 10 709 1425
e-mail: marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com
Internet: www.wartsila.com
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
