These latest orders mark a significant milestone in the success of the joint venture company Wärtsilä CME Zhenjiang Propeller.
The propeller manufacturer and joint-venture company Wärtsilä CME Zhenjiang Propeller Co Ltd signed contracts in November to deliver a total of 72 fixed pitch propellers (FPP) at a value of approximately EUR 30 million (RMB 311 million).
The company will deliver the propellers to six of China’s leading shipbuilders for vessels due to be delivered between 2009 and 2011. The nickel-aluminium bronze propellers, totalling over 2700 tonnes with diameters ranging from 6.1 – 8.2m, will be for installation to different types of vessels including oil tankers, containerships and bulk carriers.
Wärtsilä CME’s facility in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, which inaugurated a new factory earlier this year, in June, will deliver the propellers to the shipyards Guangzhou Longxue & Wenchong, Jiangsu RongSheng & Yangzijiang, Yangzhou Dayang and Taizhou Kouan.
“Since the June inauguration of the facility – which is capable of producing propellers with a weight of up to 140 tonnes – we have manufactured and delivered 48 large FPPs. But these latest orders mark a significant milestone in the success of the joint venture,” says Arto Lehtinen, General Manager, Wärtsilä CME.
“These orders come at a time when Wärtsilä CME has almost fully implemented its new production facility for large FPP and shaft line packages,” continued Lehtinen.
With an annual output capacity of 4500 tonnes, the new plant has doubled the company’s production capacity for FPPs, making the company the biggest manufacturer of this type of propeller in China and one of the biggest in the world.
Wärtsilä CME Zhenjiang Propeller Co Ltd was established in 2004 as a joint venture between Wärtsilä (55%) and Zhenjiang CME Ltd (45%). Zhenjiang CME Ltd is a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC).
The first factory of Wärtsilä CME Zhenjiang Propeller Co Ltd, established in 2004, will now concentrate on manufacturing smaller fixed pitch propellers.