Construction work starts on Wärtsilä's China Project

The ground breaking ceremony which officially starts the construction work took place in China on the generating set factory jointly owned by Wärtsilä and Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute, an underlying company of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC). The factory, which got the name Wärtsilä Qiyao Diesel Company Ltd. (Shanghai) will be located in the Shanghai area and will initially manufacture Wärtsilä Auxpac W20 diesel generating sets, which will be sold through Wärtsilä's global sales network. Production will start up in early summer 2006. "Our goal is to boost Wärtsilä's share of the ship genset market. The focus for shipbuilding is firmly in Asia and shipbuilding in China is expanding at an extremely fast rate. Local presence close to our customers will strengthen our position in the intense competition for gensets," said Executive Vice President Mikael Mäkinen. The newly acquired site area covering approximately 30 000 m2 with possibility for expansion will be located in South-East of Shanghai in Lingang Industry Zone. The factory including offices cover some 8000 m2 and will employ more than 100 people when reached matured stage. Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute is well known for its diesel engines, engine room automation equipment, noise and vibration reduction solutions and for its petrochemical machinery products. The number of employees is 800. China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) is one of the largest groups in China in the field of military and merchant ships, marine engineering and marine equipment which it designs, manufactures and sells. CSIC consists of 48 industrial enterprises, 28 scientific technological research institutes and 15 shareholding companies. In 2004 CSIC's ship deliveries totalled 2.14 million DWT. It currently has an order book of 10.2 million DWT. The total number of employees is 170,000.