MANs oldest licensee marks centenary

Speaking a four-day celebration in Kobe, Japan, Dr Stephan Timmermann, representing the MAN Diesel & Turbo executive board, spoke of the special relationship between his company and its longest prevailing licensee. Timmermann praised Kawasaki for contributing actively to this remarkable technical achievement, and stated that Kawasaki and MAN Diesel & Turbo were working closely together to find the answers to today’s and tomorrow’s demands for environmentally friendly seaborne transportation.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries was incorporated in 1896 and started out in shipbuilding but has since developed interests in marine diesel engines and in other fields, including vehicles, trains and aerospace equipment. With head offices in Tokyo and Kobe, Kawasaki employs over 32,000 staff and had net sales of almost €12billion for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2011.

Over the years, KHI has enjoyed several significant milestones, the latest being in June 2011 with the delivery of the world’s largest, medium-speed power unit, an 18MW engine for Okinawa Electric Power Company. Low-speed engine cooperation has been similarly successful and in 2010 KHI renewed its two-stroke licence agreement for the production of MAN B&W-branded engines.