Manufacturing Operations News

Rolls-Royce Power Systems Division has opened a new Remanufacturing and Overhaul Center on its mtu Aiken campus in South Carolina.First announced in 2021 and representing a low double-digit million dollar investment, the new 69,000-sq.ft. (6,400 sqm) facility is connected to the existing manufacturing operations, bringing formerly outsourced workshop and warehouse operations in-house and expands them to provide remanufacturing and overhaul of mtu Series 2000, Series 4000 and Detroit Diesel 2-Cycle engines and components, plus internal and external rework services.

Daphne Technology has established a U.S. subsidiary, Daphne Technology USA, and has appointed Jamie Brick, to lead its North American operations from Houston, Texas.Daphne Technology says its core focus is the development of sustainable solutions to combat harmful emissions. The company's SlipPure after-treatment system, which reduces methane emissions in the exhaust of natural gas-fueled engines (aka “slip”), has received approval in principle (AIP) from Lloyd's Register (LR) and DNV.

“If we are to state our strategy in one word, it’s decarbonization,” said Juha Kytölä, director of R&D and engineering at Finnish tech company Wärtsilä. “What we are going toward is to supply the market with a portfolio of products that are ready for zero-carbon fuels.”In order to achieve its sustainability goals—including a 2030 target for carbon neutrality in its own operations—Wärtsilä has been taking big strides in research and development, having ramped up its investment on this front in recent years, Kytölä said.

U.S. offshore wind farm developer Vineyard Wind will deploy and test a secondary bubble curtain noise mitigation system during foundation installation at the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm, the first commercial-scale wind farm installation project in the U.S.For this, the company is investing in ThayerMahan, a firm that specializes in seabed surveys, acoustic mitigation and monitoring, and other maritime-related services, with facilities in Connecticut and Massachusetts. The $5 million in funding comes from Vineyard Wind's Industry Accelerator Fund…

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced Thursday that Donny Dorsey has been named vice president of operations at its Ingalls Shipbuilding division in Pascagoula, Miss. Dorsey, formerly ship program manager for all DDG waterfront efforts at Ingalls Shipbuilding, replaces George Jones, who will retire April 1 after 37 years of service.“George’s expertise in shipbuilding has influenced generations of shipbuilders and the capabilities of the shipyard,” said Kari Wilkinson, president of Ingalls Shipbuilding.

Marine engineering consultancy BAR Technologies (BAR) announced that Simon Roberts, former Williams Racing Managing Director and Team Principal, has joined the business as Chief Operating Officer. Roberts will work alongside the BAR senior leadership team of Chief Executive, John Cooper, Chief Technical Officer, Simon Schofield and Head of Engineering, Lauren Eatwell.Prior to joining BAR, Roberts forged a career across a broad range of engineering sub sectors, comprising engines and drivetrains…

Australian shipbuilding group Austal Limited announced its Austal USA arm has appointed Rusty Murdaugh as president, effective September 9, 2021.Murdaugh joined Austal USA in 2017 as chief financial officer, and has been serving as interim president of the company since February 2021. As interim president, Murdaugh led the addition of steel shipbuilding to the Austal USA manufacturing operations and the company’s facility expansion in Mobile by acquiring additional waterfront and services capability on the Mobile River. A U.S.

RIX Industries offers a mobile hydrogen generation system, the M2H2-Series scalable family of Methanol-to-Hydrogen Power Systems, bringing green power to shipboard and marine environments. With the ability to generate hydrogen onboard and on demand, the RIX M2H2-Series also eliminates the heavy footprint of cryogenic liquid hydrogen storage. These highly efficient power systems provide marine shipbuilders and operators a readily available path away from environmentally damaging diesel-based propulsion systems.Available now…

Victaulic appointed Rick Bucher as Chief Executive Officer, succeeding John F. Malloy, effective January 31, 2021. Dr. Bucher was named President of Victaulic in April of 2020, following a June 2019 appointment as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining Victaulic in 2009 as Vice President of Engineering, Dr. Bucher worked for 15 years for W.L. Gore, a manufacturer of technologically advanced composite materials. Dr. Bucher received a B.S. and M.S. in engineering from Rice University and a Ph.D. in material science from Virginia Tech.Dr.

Nick “Nicky” Giarratano was promoted to Vice President of Manufacturing of DSC Dredge, LLC.Giarratano has severed  more than 24 years in various roles in both engineering and manufacturing. He started his career at DSC drafting and designing dredging equipment but quickly moved up the ranks to Project Manager and his latter post of Production Manager, to most recent Director of Production.In his new role Giarratano will oversee the manufacturing operations and logistics for all DSC properties, including both the overall facilities and teams in Reserve, La.; Poplarville, Miss.

Berg Propulsion will invest in the centralization of all manufacturing operations for controllable pitch propellers, azimuthing and transverse thrusters, and associated control systems to a single campus location in Sweden.Currently, manufacturing operations are located across two separate campuses in Sweden and Singapore. Investments made by Berg Propulsion to merge manufacturing operations at one global location will enable increased warehouse capacity for spare parts and swing…

Thai fisherman Anan Jaitang used to pile tattered nylon fishing nets on the beach after hauls of wriggling crabs tore them beyond repair, but most of the nets wound up in the sea, threatening to entangle turtles and choke coral reefs.Now, Anan and others have an alternative that's not only lucrative and environmentally friendly but will help Thailand battle the coronavirus pandemic.A new community-based project is paying small-scale fishermen 10 baht (32 cents) per kilogram of discarded nets…

Gula Skrinet AB reached an agreement with Caterpillar Luxembourg Sarl to acquire Caterpillar Propulsion AB and its subsidiaries. The sale is expected to close on June 30, 2020. Caterpillar Propulsion AB, formerly Berg Propulsion AB, is a manufacturer of mechanically and electrically driven propulsion systems and marine controls for ships.The proposed acquisition includes Caterpillar Propulsion AB and its subsidiaries, including Caterpillar Propulsion Production AB, as well as Caterpillar Propulsion Pte. Ltd, its subsidiary Caterpillar Propulsion International Trading (Shanghai) Co.

Vice President and General Manager of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Todd Thayse, has 34 years of experience in the maritime construction and repair industry, working with clients from all over the world as well as vendors and suppliers from the Great Lakes region and beyond. He has an extensive background in manufacturing production, material procurement, strategic planning, estimating, budgeting, labor negotiations, mergers and acquisitions as well as scheduling for both the commercial and governmental shipbuilding industries. He has overseen projects that have produced U.S.

After reopening its idle barge manufacturing operations earlier this year, Arcosa Marine’s Madisonville, LA, facility launched its first barge on July 25 to a welcoming crowd from the banks of the Tchefuncte River.The tank barge, E2MS 314, constructed for the family owned and operated E Squared Marine Service, LLC (E Squared), was christened by Kevin Morley of Frost Bank, after which Arcosa Inc. president, Thomas Faherty, addressed the crowd. “We are honored by E Squared’s continued trust in Arcosa Marine to deliver the highest quality inland barges to their fleet,” said Faherty.

Corvus Energy, a provider of energy storage solutions for marine, oil & gas and port applications, announced that DNV GL and Corvus Energy have completed the DNV GL Manufacturer Product Quality Assessment (MPQA) and have signed a Manufacturing Survey Arrangement (MSA), resulting in streamlined quality control processes and faster customer deliveries.Under the terms of the MSA, Corvus Energy has been granted the ability to witness the Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) at its plant in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, without the presence of a DNV GL surveyor.“We are honored to be the first battery or energy storage system manufacturer in the world to be approved for MSA certification…

The global marine engines market is estimated to grow at CAGR above 4.5% over the forecast time frame 2019 to 2026 and reach the market value around $14.4 billion by 2026.The shifting trends in the shipping industry and the increase of worldwide amounts of sea trade are projected to fuel the development of the market in marine motors, said a report by Acumen Research and Consulting.Increased use of low-sulfur fuels due to public emissions reduction standards will fuel demand for the item. The IMO, for example, established rules to tackle sulfur and particulate matter (PM) pollution in January 2015 and limited SOx sales across the ECAs to 0.10%, which complemented the industry's prospects.Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is anticipated to grow significantly by 2026, exceeding USD 2.1 billion.

Recently, Alfa Laval inaugurated the Alfa Laval PureSOx Training Center in Shanghai, China. Focused on the training of commissioning engineers, the new facility will be instrumental in ramping up the skilled workforce prior to the global sulphur cap. But with its full-sized PureSOx scrubber, it will also provide crew training opportunities for customers.Alfa Laval has not only invested heavily in PureSOx manufacturing operations, but is also working to further expand its service and training resources in exhaust gas cleaning.

AVEVA announced it has combined with Schneider Electric’s industrial software business to drive digital transformation across the asset and operational life cycle for capital-intensive industries. “88% of leaders in capital-intensive industries say that digitalization would increase their revenues,” said Craig Hayman, Chief Executive Officer at AVEVA. “Yet less than half of these companies are actually in the process of adopting a digital strategy. “Digitalization demands a fundamental rethink of the way organizations operate. They need to be confident that their technology investment will deliver a high return on capital and can lower the total cost of asset ownership.

The dynamic dredge builder navigates a complicated dredge building market by augmenting an impressive array of standard equipment with a customized approach that satisfies domestic and international customers alike. It isn’t as easy as it looks. The New Year typically brings new challenges to all sectors of the waterfront and 2018 will be no different. As the newly expanded and improved Panama and Suez Canals bring larger, so-called post-Panamax vessels to U.S. shores, stakeholders tend to focus on domestic dredging needs. And, there’s plenty of that to go around. At the same time, global infrastructure requirements are also growing.

Victaulic, a manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining solutions, has unveiled a plan to build an additional state-of-the-art manufacturing center in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The 400,000 square foot facility is the result of increased domestic demand for the company’s products. The facility is expected to break ground later this year and be fully operational in 2019. “This new facility will play an important role in meeting increased customer demand, while also producing the highest quality products in the industry -- something our customers have come to expect from us since our first innovation nearly 100 years ago,” said John F. Malloy, CEO of Victaulic.

As Brunswick Commercial & Government Products expands its capabilities and product line, the Florida-based boatbuilder is positioned to safely provide increased efficiencies, and an expanded, multi-mission product line. When Brunswick Commercial & Government Products (BCGP) broke ground on a facility expansion at the company’s Florida headquarters in early May, it served notice that this well-known boatbuilder had ramped up both its delivery capabilities, and an expanded array of new hulls. With a new large-boat building that includes added manufacturing space and other facility improvements, the 10,500-square-foot facility increases the company’s manufacturing capacity by 50 percent.

W.S. Darley & Co. informs it has purchased the assets of Fireboy, Xintex and Aetna Engineering based in Grand Rapids, Mich., forming the new company Fireboy-Xintex, LLC. W.S. Darley & Co., headquartered in Itasca, Ill., has served the world’s fire and emergency services industry since 1908. The company has manufacturing, engineering and research and development operations are in Chippewa Falls, Wisc. and Janesville, Iowa. Founded in 1973, Fireboy is a developer of marine pre-engineered and custom engineered fire safety and suppression equipment.