MHI Licenses Steering Gear and Deck Machinery to Jiangsu Masada

Tokyo - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) has signed an agreement with Jiangsu Masada Heavy Industries Co Ltd., in Jiangsu Province, China, under which MHI is to license production and marketing of steering gears and deck machinery, based on company technology to Jiangsu Masada.

Previously, in 2008, MHI licensed deck crane technology to Jiangsu Masada - then known as Nantong Masada Ship Machinery Co. Ltd. With the latest licensing agreement, Jiangsu Masada will now be able to establish a structure for providing hydraulic marine machinery in combination to its customers, a move expected to enable the company to expand its share in the rapidly growing Chinese shipbuilding market.

The steering gear and deck machinery technologies to be licensed are for small- and medium-sized under-Panamax* vessels. Hydraulic equipments to drive the machinery will be supplied by MHI. With the addition of these two products, Jiangsu Masada will become the only Chinese manufacturer able to provide all three products under the same brand name – Mitsubishi. The company will also be in a position to pursue synergistic effects in marketing, for example, by offering a combination of products as a package. The first unit to be produced under licensing is slated for completion before year's end.

Plans call for Jiangsu Masada to begin operation of a new plant, having more than double the production capacity of its present factory, thus driving acceleration of its products' market penetration.

Originally, Jiangsu Masada was jointly established in 2005 by Masada Ironworks Co., Ltd., a Japanese winch manufacturer, based in Osaka, and Nantong Universal Machinery Co. Ltd., an industrial machinery manufacturer in Jiangsu, to produce marine deck equipment under the name of Nantong Masada Ship Machinery Co. Ltd. Since licensing the deck crane technology, the company has steadily expanded production, and plans for 2012 aim for manufacture of 200 units. Last year, the company changed its name to Jiangsu Masada Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., and today it is pushing vigorous business expansion and increasing production capacity.

Steering gears are machinery to operate ship's rudder by electric-driven hydraulic pumps. MHI manufactured its first machine of this kind in 1935. Deck machinery consists of an anchor windlasses, which are used for anchoring and anchor hoisting, and mooring winches, which are used to moor a vessel to a pier or berthing facilities.