Wartsila, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Joint Manufacturing of Low-Speed Engines in China

Wartsila, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Joint Manufacturing of Low-Speed Engines in China

September 27, 2006

    HELSINKI, Finland, Sept. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Wartsila, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC)
and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) are establishing a
joint venture to manufacture large, low-speed marine
engines in China.  CSIC will hold 50% of the joint venture,
Wartsila 27% and Mitsubishi 23%. The investment will total
around 75 million euros, spread over several years. 
Production is scheduled to start during the fourth quarter
of 2008.

    The joint venture will be called Qingdao Qiyao Wartsila
MHI Linshan Marine Diesel Co Ltd (QMD). The start-up of the
joint venture is subject to final approvals, which are
expected to be received by the end of October 2006. 

    Central to Wartsila's growth strategy

    "Our aim is to better serve the shipbuilding
industry in China and thereby strengthen our market
position in the low speed engines in rapidly growing
Chinese shipbuilding market. The QMD factory is a practical
demonstration of our strategy of working through
partnerships to bring the aspirations of the partners into
reality," says Mr Ole Johansson, President and CEO of
Wartsila.

    "For CSIC, the QMD factory is much more than
increased manufacturing capacity. It enables CSIC to
further develop the technological capabilities of its ship
machinery industry; an objective which is greatly
facilitated by international co-operation with strong
technological partners such as Wartsila and MHI. Improved
technological capabilities will, in turn, also encourage
technical innovation among CSIC employees that will raise
the competitiveness of Chinese shipbuilding and grow its
market share," says Mr Li Chang Yin, President of
CSIC.

    "Developments such as the QMD factory will raise
the reputation of Mitsubishi UE engines in world
shipbuilding markets while extending the Mitsubishi UE
engine business in an important country that is a rising
dragon in shipbuilding. It will also bring more
opportunities to offer Mitsubishi UE engines to shipowners
in the world," says Mr Hiroo Uchimura, General
Manager, Industrial Energy Power Systems Department of
MHI.
    
    Strong demand in China

    The Chinese shipbuilding industry is growing rapidly
and currently requires more engines than can be
manufactured locally. As China has set itself the target of
being the world's leading shipbuilding country by 2020,
demand for low-speed engines is increasing correspondingly.
QMD will primarily serve Chinese shipyards, it will also be
able to export engines to other shipbuilding markets such
as Europe and India.
  
    Co-operation continues

    The QMD joint venture continues the co-operation
started by Wartsila and CSIC in 2005 to produce auxiliary
engines. With MHI Wartsila is co-operating in the form of a
strategic alliance to develop two-stroke marine diesel
engines. 

    Two-stroke engines with Wartsila and MHI licences

    The QMD factory will produce large marine engines for
Chinese shipyards. It will develop, manufacture and sell a
new generation of energy-saving and
environmentally-friendly low-speed two-stroke marine
engines under licence from Wartsila and MHI. The factory
will be built in the Shanghai area, where CSIC is setting
up a marine industry cluster. 

    Local supplier network

    The QMD factory will use local suppliers as much as
possible. It will thus do much to add both to the local
economy while channelling the transfer of technology that
will support local companies in raising and maintaining
their production to world-class standards. The
technological importance of QMD factory will also be
enhanced through its use by Wartsila and MHI for the
research and development testing of new engines, further
emphasizing its technological importance.

    About Wartsila Corporation

    Wartsila enhances the business of its customers by
providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions.
When creating better and environmentally compatible
technologies, Wartsila focuses on the marine and energy
markets with products and solutions as well as services.
Through innovative products and services, Wartsila sets out
to be the most valued business partner of all its customers.
This is achieved by the dedication of 13,000 professionals
manning 130 Wartsila offices in over 60 countries around
the world.

    About China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation

    China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) is the
largest group in China in the field of merchant and
military ships, marine engineering and marine equipment
which it designs, manufactures and sells. CSIC consists of
more than 100 subsidiaries, including six shipyards, 48
industrial enterprises and 28 research institutes. Its
factories manufacture many types of ship equipment and
include four major engine factories. The total number of
CSIC employees in China is 160,000.

    About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd

    Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd (MHI), headquartered
in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading heavy
machinery manufacturers, with consolidated sales of 2,790
billion yen (approx. EUR 19 billion) in fiscal 2005. MHI's
operations encompasses shipbuilding, steel structures,
power plants, chemical plants, steel plants, environmental
equipment, industrial and general machinery, aircraft,
space rocketry and air-conditioning systems. It has 32,600
employees. 

    For the marine industry, MHI supplies a wide range of
products, including diesel engines, turbines, boilers,
propellers, deck machinery, water jets and pumps. The
company supplies high-, medium- and low-speed diesel
engines and provides related services for various types of
vessels.

    A press conference will be held in Hamburg at 11.00 am
CET and can be viewed on the Internet at the following
address: 
http://wcast.goodmood.tv:80/wip/directlink.do?newbrowser=1&pid=1203198
.

    For more information, please contact:

     Clas-Eirik Strand 
     President, 
     Wartsila Switzerland Ltd
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Mr Weng Zhenping
     Deputy Director, 
     Planning & Development Department, 
     CSIC
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

     Mr Tomoo Kuzu
     Senior Manager,
     Marine Diesel & Machinery Business Section 
     Industrial Energy Power Systems Department,      
     Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd
     Tel:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Wartsila