China: WQDC Reaches Important Milestone with the Production of Its 1000th Auxpac 20 Genset

Wärtsilä, the marine industry’s leading solutions and services provider, has celebrated an important milestone with the production of the 1000th Wärtsilä Auxpac 20 generating set. This 8-cylinder Wärtsilä Auxpac 20 unit was produced for Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries, the largest shipyard in China, at the Wärtsilä Qiyao Diesel Company (WQDC) joint venture facilities in China.

The WQDC 50/50 joint venture between Wärtsilä and Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute (SMDERI) was established in 2005 and the first Wärtsilä Auxpac 20 was produced in 2006.

The milestone event was celebrated at the WQDC premises in Shanghai on 28 June, and was attended by Mr Jin Donghan, President of SMDERI and Chairman of the WQDC board, Mr Xi Guowei, Vice President in SMDERI, Mr Sergio Razeto, President of Wärtsilä Italy, Mr James Han, President of Wärtsilä China and Mr Vesa-Pekka Virkki, Director, Strategic Development in Wärtsilä – all WQDC board members.

The Auxpac 20 is a standardised medium-speed generating set, based on the well-proven Wärtsilä 20 engine. It is widely used in merchant vessels as an auxiliary power provider. It features low operating costs, reliable performance, and easy installation.

In his speech made at the celebratory event, Stefan Wiik, Managing Director of WQDC, commented: “With one thousand of these engines having been built, sold, and successfully used around the world, the quality of the Wärtsilä Auxpac 20 unit has been well and truly established. Equally, the ability of the WQDC production facility to build these units efficiently, cost effectively, and on time is again confirmed. Reaching this milestone is a clear indicator of our experience in developing solutions that meet customer requirements.”

The Wärtsilä Qiyao Diesel Company joint venture is an important part of Wärtsilä’s strategy in producing its engines close to its customer base. China and Korea are today the world’s leading shipbuilding nations and Asia, therefore, represents a key strategic area for Wärtsilä’s Ship Power business.

[mappress]

Source: wartsila, July 3, 2012