"We see business opportunities in several customer segments, such as cruise and icegoing. The demand for solutions that improve the fuel efficiency and safety of ships is increasing and by expanding our production to Hamina, we can ensure that our capacity meets the market demands," says Juha Koskela, Head of Propulsion Products business, ABB Marine.
"ABB's production in Hamina brings high-tech competence and much welcomed new business to the Kotka-Hamina area. It will also open new collaboration possibilities to companies that are located in the same region. We are confident that the production facility in Hamina's Hailikari is a good fit with ABB's needs," says Hannu Karavirta, the managing director of Cursor, the Kotka-Hamina regional development company.
In 2007, ABB invested in Azipod production by building a new factory and office facility in the port of Vuosaari, Helsinki. ABB manufactures large Azipod propulsion units of over 6 megawatts in Finland. In addition to Finland, the company manufactures Azipod units only in Shanghai, China.
Azipod production in the Hamina facility is planned to commence in December 2014 and expected to employ about 20 people.
ABB's business unit Marine and Cranes delivers marine solutions to customers around the world. The business unit employs over 1700 people in 19 countries, out of which 350 people in Finland.
Azipod propulsion is a gearless steerable propulsion system where the electric drive motor is in a submerged pod outside the ship hull. It improves safety, fuel efficiency and is the most environmentally friendly propulsion system. ABB has delivered Azipod propulsion units to over 350 vessels in over 150 countries.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 150,000 people.
