Wartsila has today opened a Service Centre in Murmansk, Russia to serve the rapidly growing number of vessels in northern waters. The Service Centre demonstrates Wartsila's commitment to expand in line with the increasing marine activity in the Barents Sea region. To emphasise the importance of co-operation, Wartsila's CEO and President, Ole Johansson and the Governor of the Murmansk Oblast region of Russia, Dmitry Vladimirovich Dmitrienko, jointly signed a document of goodwill.
Being the only year-round ice-free port in north western Russia, Murmansk is rapidly being developed as a major transport hub. It is also the operational centre for the development of the vast Shtokman gas condensates field. The port is home to more than 20 maritime companies, and is attracting an increasing number of international companies to the region.
"Local presence and availability are of utmost importance in assuring efficient customer support. The new Service Centre in Murmansk is a further step in our strategy to continuously develop our unique worldwide service network," says Christoph Vitzthum, Group Vice President, Wartsila Services.
Full range of sales and service support
The Wartsila Murmansk Service Centre provides a full range of sales and support services for all local marine and offshore customers. The service capacity will enable Wartsila to offer more efficient and fully focused support to the growing fleet of merchant vessels, offshore vessels, offshore platforms, and offshore facilities in the region.
The Murmansk Service Centre covers an area of 280 m2 and includes both workshops and offices. The Service Centre offers overhauling of main and auxiliary marine engines, as well as maintenance and repairs of ancillary equipment, pipework, electrical equipment, ship automation systems, and other equipment.
The Murmansk service workshop is being staffed initially with 15 employees, but this number is expected to increase in the near future. The majority of employees are being hired locally. They will be trained both at the Wartsila Land & Sea Academy in Finland, and on site according to Wartsila's global standards.
Media contact: Ms Marit Holmlund-Sund
Senior Manager, PR and Marketing Communications
Wartsila Corporation
Direct tel: +358 10 709 1439
Direct fax: +358 10 709 142
E-mail: marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com
www.wartsila.com Pictures from the inauguration will be available later today at
www.wartsila.com/press.
Wartsila in brief Wartsila is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wartsila maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers.
In 2008, Wartsila's net sales totalled EUR 4.6 billion with 19,000 employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wartsila is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com