Wärtsilä Corporation has manufactured the 2000th Wärtsilä 20 diesel engine.
The Wärtsilä 20 engine type was introduced in 1992 as a heavy-duty diesel engine for economical, reliable operation on heavy fuel oil. In its ten years’ production, the engine has been further developed and still offers a remarkable combination of state-of-the-art design and top performance in a compact, space-saving package.
Its service experience has confirmed its ability to achieve long times between overhauls. Up to 24,000 hours’ operation between overhauls are achieved on light fuel oils.
The Wärtsilä 20 now gives up to 180 kW/cylinder at up to 1000 rev/min. Thus with four to nine cylinder in-line, it now offers maximum continuous outputs of 520 to 1620 kW. The summer of 2003 will also see the delivery of the first pilot engines with the next output stage, which is 10 per cent above the previous stage.
This engine type has been particularly popular for auxiliary shipboard applications. Indeed the 2000th engine is one of three nine-cylinder engines being supplied as complete diesel generating sets for a 2500 TEU container ship being built at the German shipyard Aker MTW Werft GmbH in Wismar for the German shipowner Reederei Nord Klaus E. Oldendorff GmbH. This is one of 16 container ships of the same class from Aker MTW for various owners, for which Wärtsilä has also supplied Sulzer 7RTA72U-B main engines but with various configurations of Wärtsilä 20 generating sets according to the shipowners’ requirements.
Wärtsilä 20 engines are all manufactured in Wärtsilä’s Vaasa factory in Finland. To respond to the rapid sales growth, a new dedicated product factory was inaugurated in 1997. This factory is optimised for efficient production of Wärtsilä 20 engines and generating sets. The factory has reached stringent targets for delivery time and accuracy. This was achieved by continuously improving a number of novel approaches to the factory layout centred on an assembly line. The high quality level and competitive life cycle cost of the engine can be partially attributed to the new approaches.
Marit Holmlund-Sund
Public Relations Manager, Marine Division
Wärtsilä Corporation
Direct tel: +358 10 709 1941
Direct fax: +358 10 709 1942
e-mail:marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com
Internet: www.wartsila.com
