About Wärtsilä in Switzerland
Wärtsilä Switzerland Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary company of the Finnish Wärtsilä Corporation, a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets.
Wärtsilä in Switzerland, located in Winterthur, is the centre of excellence for low-speed 2-stroke marine diesel engines. These engines are utilized for the propulsion of all types of deep-sea ships world-wide, such as tankers, bulk carriers, car carriers, general cargo ships and container ships right up to and including the world’s largest cargo ships. The company continues the long tradition of the Sulzer Diesel business which started in 1898. Wärtsilä has extensive state-of-the-art research and training facilities at its Diesel Technology Centre located in Oberwinterthur.
Since 2009, Wärtsilä Global Logistics Services (WGLS) is managed from Switzerland as well and operates 24/7 – whenever, wherever. This global Business Unit acts as Sales Enabler and is Wärtsilä’s global logistics provider for spare parts.
The majority of the Wärtsilä staff in Switzerland is located at the office premises in the centre of Winterthur, working on all aspects of research and development (R&D), design, licensing, manufacturing support, marketing, sales and service support as well global logistics. Currently, there are more than 540 people from 39 nations working at Wärtsilä in Switzerland.
Responsibilities of the different Business Units
The Ship Power business unit 2-stroke business line is responsible for the development, engineering, product management, licensing and sales of 2-stroke engines.
In its research centre in Winterthur, Wärtsilä is strongly committed to Product Development & Engineering. The activities of the department are focussed on the development of leading technologies for application on a new generation of low-speed engines. In addressing the future challenges of tightening emission regulations, Wärtsilä seeks to achieve the best possible economic and environmental performance for its customers. Wärtsilä's Product Development & Engineering activities focus on products and solutions that are fuel-efficient, reliable and safe, self-diagnostic, cost-efficient to operate, and produce minimal environmental impact throughout their lifecycles.
Wärtsilä continuously strengthens the company’s technology leadership position, thereby improving its competitive edge in the global marine market.
The responsibility of the Licence Management team is to ensure optimized quality, delivery and cost for Wärtsilä 2-stroke engines produced by its world-wide network o licensees. Currently, 19 licensees are located mainly in Asia (Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam), but also in Europe (Croatia, Poland and Russia) and South America (Brazil). You can find our 2-stroke engine portfolio on the global site.
The Licence Management team creates a strong link and feedback loop from the licensees to “Product Development & Engineering, Product Management”, Ship Power and Services and solves operational questions of shipowners with a short lead time in direct partnership with the licensees. The strengthened interface functions generate best-practice design solutions and effectively support the needs of the licensees for cost-competitive, manufacturing-friendly engines and a high level of quality.
The Product Management team takes care of all released Wärtsilä 2-stroke engines throughout the entire lifecycle of the products and ensures the competitiveness of Wärtsilä two-stroke engines in accordance with the needs of its customers, i. e. shipyards, shipowners and licensees.
The 2-stroke Sales team promotes, sells and delivers cost-efficient power solutions for all types and sizes of merchant vessels. The traditional merchant vessel types like container vessels, bulkers, tankers, car carriers and general cargo vessels are mainly powered by two-stroke low speed engines, or if the vessel size is smaller, by Wärtsilä four-stroke medium speed engines. For LNG carriers Wärtsilä has developed concepts featuring Dual Fuel diesel electric technology.
The Services team for the 2-stroke engines is also headquartered in Switzerland. Together with Wärtsilä’s unique world-wide network of service stations, it provides fast and reliable after sales services for global customers. The offering includes premium warranty services, field and technical services as well as training at the Diesel Technology Centre in Oberwinterhur. In addition, the service team develops 2-stroke service products, including engineering and technical information, as well as new market opportunities. Read more about our Services & Support here.
Wärtsilä Global Logistics Services (WGLS) controls the warehouse operation in the Central Distribution Centre in Kampen, Netherlands, as well as the inventories in two Spare Parts Centres in the Americas and Asia. It covers the whole supply process from receiving a request for quotation until proof of delivery to the customer or Wärtsilä network company. WGLS always strives to maximise parts availability and on-time delivery for its customers whilst minimising inventories and distribution costs in the supply chain. Read more about our spare parts, tools and consumables here.