Wärtsilä invests in Smart Technology Hub

Upon completion, all of Wärtsilä’s functions and personnel in central Vaasa will transfer to the new hub, along with the logistics and maintenance workshop operations from Runsor.

“Constant renewal is in Wärtsilä’s DNA. The Vaasa Smart Technology Hub represents another generational shift for us – it will bring Wärtsilä’s expertise into a whole new realm,” said Jaakko Eskola, Wärtsilä’s President & CEO.

Significant investment

As a part of the project, Wärtsilä will invest €83 million in modern testing and production technology for the hub.

The total investment in the Smart Technology Hub will be in the region of €200 million, consisting of office and factory buildings, logistics and infrastructure. It will open its doors in Vaskiluoto in 2020.

Wärtsilä’s calls the hub the latest in its ‘Smart Marine and Smart Energy’ vision. It will be unique in its field, enabling more agile, more efficient testing and product development of solutions for the maritime, oil and gas industries, as well as new energy systems.

It will also invite other operators in the sectors and researchers to collaborate. The vision is to create a partners’ campus where research and product development take place together with Wärtsilä’s customers and suppliers, start-ups in the sector and universities.

Alongside the Smart Technology Hub, the most visible renewal projects have included the new business premises in Runsor, Vaasa and the Wärtsilä Helsinki Campus in Salmisaari, Helsinki, due for completion in the late autumn. The value of these investments is just under €20 million.