Marine Log - February 2008 - (Page 37)

PROPULSION The thruster assembly hall at Drunen derpropeller systems up to a power rating of around 2,300 kW will be assembled in Spay. Meanwhile, the Wismar plant will specialize in the assembly of higher-power propulsion systems. For this purpose, the assembly capacity for large Rudderpropeller systems will be expanded from its present level of about 80 units to about 180 per year. The company management is convinced that this division of work will make both locations more resistant to fluctuations in the market and in capacity utilization. A few years ago, U.S.-based Thrustmaster of Texas, Inc., expanded its existing facility. After receiving more than $100 million in orders last year, the company is now breaking ground on a new 60-acre, 200,000 ft2 factory near its current location in Houston, Texas. The new factory is scheduled to open by the end of this year. PROPULSION MANUFACTURERS RATCHET UP CAPACITY The continued strong shipbuilding market has sent marine equipment manufacturers scrambling to increase capacity and optimize production efficiency. In 2007, for example, Wartsila invested EURO 170 million in production and has plans to invest another EURO 200 million this year. “Ship orders have risen over the last six consecutive years,” said Ole Johansson, Wartsila’s president and CEO. “We are investing in production capacity in order to respond to strong demand in the marine and offshore markets.” Johansson made his comments at the inauguration of Wartsila’s new thruster assembly hall in Drunen, the Netherlands. Wartsila invested about EURO 10.3 million in the new hall, which will be able to manufacture about 100 steerable thrusters annually for tugs, offshore support vessels and floating rigs and semi-submersibles. Besides its investment in the new assembly hall, Wartsila also upgraded existing controllable pitch propeller manufacturing facilities at the site, increasing production capacity to 130 CP propellers per year and Lips Modular Thrusters to 100 units annually. Wartsila also has plans to increase capacity at its Zwolle, Schiedam and Kruiningen facilities in the Netherlands. Wartsila is not alone in investing and upgrading its manufacturing capacity in Europe. This past November, Germany’s Schottel GmbH said it would invest up to EURO 4.8 million by the end of this year to expand its facilities and optimize its production processes at Spay and Wismar. The capital investment would nearly double the manufacturing capacity for its large scale propulsion systems. Under the plan, the Spay location will be developed into the machining and gear unit production center of Schottel GmbH. In the near future, Schottel expects all of its Rudwww.marinelog.com FEBRUARY 2008 MARINE LOG 37 http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - February 2008

Marine Log - February 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Cruise Growth: Driven by Megaships and Europe Another Piece of the Short Sea Transport Puzzle Putting Together a More Advanced Jones Act Tanker Evolving Propulsion Options for Diesel Electric Ships In Search of Smarter Shipbuilding Seatrade Peview Events Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Website Directory Infodirect ML Marketplace Opinions

Marine Log - February 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.