Getting A Deal In Gear

Wärtsilä and Siemens AG, Mechanical Drives (Flender) have reached an agreement through which the assembly and testing of Wärtsilä’s marine gearbox portfolio will be moved to the Siemens Mechanical Drives facilities in Voerde, Germany. No financial information or contract details were provided.

By taking advantage of synergies with processes developed at the Siemens plant, the new arrangement will secure the quality and delivery punctuality of the Wärtsilä gearboxes and will thus provide greater customer value, the companies said. The design and technical specifications, as well as the delivery arrangements, project management and interfacing with shipyards and owners, will continue to be Wärtsilä’s responsibility.

 “We believe that we have found the best possible partner for ensuring that our gearbox offering is of the expected quality, and for being able to serve our customers in an efficient, reliable and on-time way,” said Arto Lehtinen, vice president, Propulsion, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions. “We wish to emphasize that it is only the production arrangements that are being revised — all the terms and conditions of our contracts with customers remain unchanged.”

The gear box is the key link between a ship’s main propulsion engine and the controllable pitch propeller. Several configurations and sizes are offered according to the actual vessel requirements. Wärtsilä’s gearboxes come in both single and two-speed variants, the latter being of particular benefit to enhance the performance of certain types of vessels.

“We are pleased to be cooperating with Wärtsilä in the production of their marine gearboxes,” said Felix Henseler, executive vice president, Applications, Siemens Mechanical Drives. The products are excellent and they fit well with our manufacturing program at this facility.”