Wartsila boss outlines China plans
Shanghai: Speaking exclusively with SinoShip News, Björn Rosengren, president and ceo of Finnish power firm, Wartsila, has outlined plans to expand in China.
Wartsila has been in China for around 20 years now and has established four joint ventures and six licensees to build two stroke engines.
China accounted for 11% of Wartsila’s total sales last year.
“Our philosophy is we have to work together with successful Chinese companies. The development of China’s shipbuilding industy is the basis for our development,” said Rosengren on a visit to Shanghai this week.
Wartsila is well in tune with Beijing’s efforts to modernize the nation’s shipping industry. The Ministry of Transportation last month announced a programme for modernizing shipping by 2020.
To this end, Wartsila has a triple-pronged strategy in line with Beijing’s new direction.
“One is to improve fuel efficiency, which is to produce engines with the lowest fuel consumption. The second is to promote gas engines and gas systems… The third is to promote our environmental solutions which is very much focused on scrubber technology, ballast water cleaning and they will help the shipowners to comply with the coming new regulations,” said Rosengren.
Rosengren also spoke with our sister title about plans for new engines and his take on where the shipping industry as a whole is headed. That article can be accessed here.