ZF Explores Chinese Offshore Market
Marine Propulsion Systems, a business unit of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, shared at the sidelines of Marintec China 2013 that China continues to be a key focus for the company and shared plans to strengthen its footprint in the market. ZF Marine has been in China since 2006 and currently operates a sales and services office in Shanghai which serves as a competence center for all marine applications in China.
With optimism slowly returning to the global offshore market, the industry is expected to climb steadily and this presents significant business opportunities for ZF Marine, leveraging increased demand for marine propulsion units for offshore support vessels (OSV) as activity in the industry picks up.
ZF Marine expects a third of global revenue to come from the Asia Pacific region in the longer term, with its operations in China playing a critical role to achieving this target.
“ZF Marine has established a strong reputation for quality products and efficient service among our network of customers, distributors and service partners in China,” said Koh Chong Hin, the General Manager overseeing Asia Pacific and the Middle East at ZF Marine. “The global realignment to focus on our core competencies of transmissions and thrusters will further cement ZF Marine as the preferred partner for the development, sales, production and service of marine propulsion units in China and across the Asia Pacific region.”
ZF Marine provides a wide range of transmissions for marine engines as well as thruster systems and electronic control systems specifically designed for the commercial marine market.
“Our commercial thruster business continues to grow in markets around the world,” Koh added. “We are seeing strong interest in our azimuth thrusters and retractable thrusters for various offshore applications and we are well positioned to cater to growing demand in key markets like China.”
ZF Marine has strengthened its Asia Pacific management team to drive further growth in China and other key markets in the region. The company also shored up its after sales service for customers through access to ZF Marine’s active service support network of 25 offices in 18 countries in Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
zf.com