Wärtsilä thruster plant for China

Wärtsilä is developing its propulsion business and is setting up a wholly owned, state-of-the-art factory for ?transverse thrusters? in Wuxi, located approximately 100 km west of Shanghai, China. The name of the company is Wärtsilä Propulsion (Wuxi) Co. Ltd and production will start in mid 2005.

The company will produce LIPS brand transverse thrusters, i.e. bow thrusters, and will serve the global shipbuilding market. “This venture brings Wärtsilä even closer to Asian customers, which will help us to serve them better. As the focus of the world’s shipbuilding industry shifts towards Asia, Wärtsilä has the opportunity to increase its market share in Transverse Thrusters”, says Mikael Mäkinen, Group Vice President, Ship Power.