Wärtsilä Oyj Abp (), trading internationally as Wärtsilä Corporation, is a Finnish company which manufactures and services power sources and other equipment in the marine and

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

markets. The core products of Wärtsilä include technologies for the energy sector, including gas, multi-fuel, liquid fuel and biofuel power plants and

energy storage Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an Accumulator (energy), accumulator or Batte ...

systems; and technologies for the marine sector, including cruise ships, ferries, fishing vessels, merchant ships, navy ships, special vessels, tugs, yachts and offshore vessels. Ship design capabilities include ferries, tugs, and vessels for the fishing, merchant, offshore and special segments. Services offerings include online services, underwater services, turbocharger services, and also services for the marine, energy, and oil and gas markets. At the end of December 2023, the company employed 17,800 workers. Wärtsilä has two main businesses; Energy Business focusing on the energy market, and Marine Business focusing on the marine market. The Marine Business is mainly present in Europe, China and East Asia, while its key Energy Business markets are South and South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Wärtsilä has locations in around 80 countries, including the US, Brazil, Finland, Germany, South Africa, Singapore and China, but operates globally. The company has signalled its intention to transform from an equipment maker to a smart marine and energy company, following acquisitions of companies such as Transas, Greensmith, Guidance Marine, and MSI, and the setting-up of "digital acceleration centres" in Helsinki, Singapore, Central Europe, and North America. In 2023, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' named Wärtsilä one of the 100 most influential companies in the world.

History

Origins

Wärtsilä was established when the governor of the county of

North Karelia North Karelia (or ''Northern Karelia'', ; ) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia's Republic of Karelia. It is the easternmost region of Finland and share ...

approved the construction of a sawmill in the municipality of

Tohmajärvi Tohmajärvi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Nei ...

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

on 12 April 1834. The sawmill was soon taken over by industrialist Nils Ludvig Arppe, who built ironworks in the premises. In 1898 the company was renamed Wärtsilä Ab.

Diesel engines

In 1938 the diesel engine era began when Wärtsilä signed a licence agreement with Friedrich Krupp Germania Werft AG in Germany. The first diesel engine was produced in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

in November 1942. During the following decades more focus was put on manufacturing diesel and gas engines with the acquisitions of the Swedish firm

NOHAB NOHAB (Nydqvist & Holm AB) was a manufacturing company based in the city of Trollhättan, Sweden. History The company was founded by Antenor Nydqvist, Johan Magnus Lidström and Carl Olof Holm in 1847 as ''Trollhättans Mekaniska Verkstad'' as ...

in 1978, the French

Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques The Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (the Alsatian Corporation of Mechanical Engineering), or SACM, is an engineering company with its headquarters in Mulhouse, Alsace, which produced railway locomotives, textile and printing ma ...

(SACM), and the Dutch Stork-Werkspoor in 1989. In 1997 Wärtsilä absorbed the diesel motor producing New Sulzer Diesel (NSD), which had been created by Sulzer in 1990. In 2015, Wärtsilä divested its two stroke engine portfolio into a joint venture named WinGD, which was fully divested in 2016. At least some of these engines such as the Wärtsilä RT-flex68-D, were manufactured under licence by manufacturers in Korea such as Hyundai Heavy Industries and Doosan. Under WinGD, some engines are also manufactured by Mitsui E&S Diesel United, and formerly IHI.

Hybrid engines

In 2020, Wärtsilä made plans to supply hybrid engine solutions for

Finnlines Finnlines Plc (, ) is a shipping operator of Roll-on/roll-off, ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the Celtic Sea. It is a subsidiary of the Grimaldi Group. Finnlines’ sea transports are concentrated in the Balt ...

Expanding portfolio

Through acquisitions of marine propulsion systems supplier John Crane-Lips in 2002, marine automation company Total Automation in 2006, specialist equipment company Hamworthy in 2012 and L-3 Marine Systems International in 2014, Wärtsilä expanded their portfolio considerably.

Marine market

The company services the merchant, offshore, cruise and ferry, naval, fishing, tugs, yachts and special vessel markets, and the offering includes ship design, main and auxiliary engines, auxiliary power systems, electrical and automation packages,

propulsor {{short description, Mechanical device to propel a vessel A propulsor is a mechanical device that gives propulsion. The word is commonly used in the marine vernacular, and implies a mechanical assembly that is more complicated than a propeller. The ...

s (such as water jets, thrusters,

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

s, and

nozzle A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow (specially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe (material), pipe. A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross ...

s),

seals Seals may refer to: * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impress an emblem, used as a means of a ...

, bearings,

gear A gear or gearwheel is a rotating machine part typically used to transmit rotational motion and/or torque by means of a series of teeth that engage with compatible teeth of another gear or other part. The teeth can be integral saliences or ...

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

scrubber Scrubber systems (e.g. chemical scrubbers, gas scrubbers) are a diverse group of air pollution control devices that can be used to remove some particulates and/or gases from industrial exhaust streams. An early application of a carbon dioxide scr ...

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centra ...

s, and all related services, such as repair, configuration, upgrading, training, maintenance, and environmental services. Customers comprise both

shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved ...

and

ship owners A ship is a large vessel that travels the world's oceans and other navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished from boats, ...

. The environmental products range from reduction of air emissions, such as

NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tro ...

, SOx, CO, and

volatile organic compound Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. They are common and exist in a variety of settings and products, not limited to Indoor mold, house mold, Upholstery, upholstered furnitur ...

s (VOCs), to oily waste water treatment and other water systems such as ballast water management systems. Wärtsilä was an important Finnish shipbuilder from 1935 until 1989, building

cruiseferries A cruiseferry is a ship that combines the features of a cruise ship and a Ro-Pax ferry. Many passengers travel with the ships for the cruise experience, staying only a few hours at the destination port or not leaving the ship at all, while ot ...

, cruise ships and a large share of the

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

s of the world. The former

Wärtsilä Marine Wärtsilä Marine (; ) was a Finland, Finnish shipbuilding company. The company was created in 1987 in order to improve shipbuilding productivity by combining the Wärtsilä and Valmet yards under the same organisation. The yards were located in ...

Turku Shipyard is now owned by

Meyer Werft Meyer Werft (; ) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Papenburg at the river Ems. It was founded in 1795, as a builder of small wooden vessels. It has been owned and managed by the Meyer family for seven generations. Since ...

under its

Meyer Turku Meyer Turku Oy is a Finnish shipbuilding company located in Turku, Finland Proper. The main products are cruise ships and cruiseferries. The shipbuilding facility is Perno shipyard in Turku. The yard area is 144 hectares and it is equipped wi ...

subsidiary and the Helsinki shipyard is operated by a company of the same name owned by the Canadian

Davie Shipbuilding Davie Shipbuilding is a shipbuilding company located in Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. The facility is now operating as Chantier Davie Canada Inc. and is the oldest continually operating shipbuilder in North America. History The Davie shipyard in Lauz ...

Energy equipment market

Wärtsilä is a provider of

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

s in

distributed Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

and flexible power generation. The product portfolio consists of installations up to 600 MW, running on any gaseous or liquid

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

s, such as

Heavy fuel oil Heavy fuel oil (HFO) is a category of fuel oils of a tar-like consistency. Also known as bunker fuel, or residual fuel oil, HFO is the result or remnant from the distillation and cracking process of petroleum. For this reason, HFO contains seve ...

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...

(LNG), different types and qualities of

fuel oil Fuel oil is any of various fractions obtained from the distillation of petroleum (crude oil). Such oils include distillates (the lighter fractions) and residues (the heavier fractions). Fuel oils include heavy fuel oil (bunker fuel), marine f ...

s, and renewable fuels like

biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...

and

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...

. In addition for the reliability of traditional base power generation, the engines have the capability to start and stop quickly and they maintain their efficiency in part load, which makes them well suited for peaking power production,

smart grid The smart grid is an enhancement of the 20th century electrical grid, using two-way communications and distributed so-called intelligent devices. Two-way flows of electricity and information could improve the delivery network. Research is main ...

s, and

emergency power system An emergency power system is an independent source of electrical power that supports important electrical systems on loss of normal power supply. A standby power system may include a standby generator, batteries and other apparatus. Emergency ...

s. They can also utilize the

combined cycle A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...

and

cogeneration Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elec ...

to produce steam or hot water for heating, and trigeneration for chilled water, which can be used for

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

. Wärtsilä also provides products and services for grid stability management, utilization of

gas flare A gas flare, alternatively known as a flare stack, flare boom, ground flare, or flare pit, is a gas combustion device used in places such as petroleum refineries, chemical plants and natural gas processing plants, oil or gas extraction sites ha ...

s, pumping applications (such as pump and compression drives),

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

, and

project management Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...

services for projects concerning

power generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery ( transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its stora ...

. In 2016, Wärtsilä signed an agreement to acquire Greensmith Energy Management Systems Inc. In March 2018, the company announced that it had delivered the world's largest solar hybrid power plant, situated in Burkina Faso. Wärtsilä provides about 25 percent of Bangladesh's total grid capacity, with the company's total power supply to Bangladesh rising to more than 4200 MW when a 105MW power plant being built by Baraka Shikalbaha Power Ltd goes fully operational in spring 2019. Wärtsilä's wide energy products and systems footprint includes the US, Germany, the UK, China, Russia, Singapore, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Senegal, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Morocco, Argentina, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Finland, Mauritius, Rwanda, Honduras, El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Jordan and Oman.

Battery Storage

After acquiring Greensmith in 2017, Wärtsilä entered the global battery storage market as Wärtsilä Energy Storage and Optimisation (ES&O). Its energy storage business reached profitability in 2023. Wärtsilä ES&O’s offering includes battery energy storage system (BESS) hardware through its Quantum portfolio, a controls and optimisation software with GEMS Digital Energy Platform, and lifecycle services.

Services market

The wholly owned service network consist of over 4,500 field services professionals in more than 160 locations in over 70 countries globally, with the installed base of over 180 000 MW. The focus lies on optimising operations and life cycle performance of land based power plants and ship installations. Wärtsilä provides services, spare parts, maintenance, upgrades, and fuel conversions products for medium and low-speed gas and diesel engines and other related systems,

propulsion systems Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...

, electrical & automation systems,

boilers A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...

including environmental solutions regarding

particulates Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspension (chemistry), suspended in the atmosphere of Earth, air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate ...

and

, covering

selective catalytic reduction Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) means converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to as with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen (), and water (). A reductant, typically anhydrous ammonia (), aqueous ammonia (), or a urea () soluti ...

(SCRs), oxidation catalysts,

ballast water treatment systems Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a b ...

and oily-water systems, long-term service agreements, training, condition monitoring, and condition-based maintenance and advisory services. In January 2017, Wärtsilä and Carnival Corporation announced a 12-year performance-based agreement worth 900 million euros. Acquisitions in the services business include Eniram in 2016, Trident B.V in 2017, and Lock-N-Stich. On 1 October 2018, Wärtsilä announced that it would reorganize into two business areas, incorporating the Services business into the existing Marine and Energy businesses.

Market share and competitors

At the end of 2023, Wärtsilä's market share in marine medium-speed main engines was 46% and in auxiliary engines 17%. At the end of 2023 Wärtsilä's market share for gas and liquid fuel power plants was 13%. Wärtsilä's biggest competitors in the marine market are

MAN Energy Solutions Everllence SE (Societas Europaea) is a German manufacturer of large diesel engines and turbomachinery for maritime and stationary applications headquartered in Augsburg. The company develops and manufactures two-stroke and four-stroke diesel e ...

Caterpillar Inc. Caterpillar Inc., also known as Cat, is an American construction, mining and other engineering equipment manufacturer. The company is the world's largest manufacturer of construction equipment. In 2018, Caterpillar was ranked number 73 on the ' ...

and

Kongsberg Gruppen Kongsberg Gruppen is a Norway, Norwegian multinational company, that supplies High tech, high-technology systems to customers in the merchant marine, Defense industry, defence, aerospace, Offshore drilling, offshore oil and gas industries, and Re ...

. Key competitors in the energy market include

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the prede ...

and

Ansaldo Energia Ansaldo Energia S.p.A. is an Italian power engineering company based in Genoa, Italy. The original parent company, Gio. Ansaldo & C., was founded in 1853, and merged with Finmeccanica in 1993 (now Leonardo S.p.A.). In 2024, the company's sha ...

. When it comes to energy storage systems, Wärtsilä's main competitors include

Tesla, Inc Tesla, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it designs, manufactures and sells battery electric vehicles (BEVs), stationary battery energy storage devices from home ...

and Fluence Energy.

Engines

Wärtsilä produces a wide range of four-stroke medium-speed

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

and dual- and multi-fuel engines for

marine propulsion Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a watercraft through water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting of an electri ...

electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transm ...

on board ships and for land-based

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

s. The engine models are identified by the

cylinder bore In a piston engine, the bore (or cylinder bore) is the diameter of each cylinder. Engine displacement is calculated based on bore, stroke length and the number of cylinders: displacement = The stroke ratio, determined by dividing the bore b ...

diameter in centimeters, which range from . The smallest engine series, Wärtsilä 20, produces a modest per cylinder and is available in inline configurations from 4 to 9 cylinders. The largest engine series, Wärtsilä 46F, produces up to per cylinder and is available in both inline and vee configurations, with up to 16 cylinders for marine use and 20 cylinders for land-based power plants. In the past, Wärtsilä also produced the most powerful medium-speed engine series in the world, Wärtsilä 64, with an output of per cylinder. In 2015, the Wärtsilä 31 engine achieved a ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

'' title for the most efficient 4-stroke diesel engine. A joint venture agreement between Wärtsilä and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) for the take-over of Wärtsilä's 2-stroke engine business was announced in July 2014 and finalized in January 2015; until that time Wärtsilä had been building low-speed engines in inline configuration, with five (5RT-flex35) to fourteen cylinders (14RT-flex96C). The most powerful low-speed engine ever produced by Wärtsilä, a 14-cylinder version of the RT-flex96C, produces and is used to propel the

Mærsk E-class The E class comprises eight 14,770 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container ships. Each sister ship bears a name beginning with the letter "E". Until 2012, they were the largest container ship ever constructed, and are among the longest ships ...

container ships A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...

. Wärtsilä admitted to manipulating fuel consumption tests after an internal audit in 2016, saying that a few hundred engines had been affected. The company claimed that the customer impact of this manipulation had been marginal.

Sustainability

Wärtsilä published its first environmental report in 2001, and first sustainability report in 2003. The company signed the

United Nations Global Compact The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to get businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The UN Global Compact is the world's ...

initiative in 2009. Common rules and guidance for all employees on Wärtsilä's approach to responsible business practices are defined in the company's code of conduct. Supplier requirements on sustainability, traceability, and business continuity planning are set out in the company's supplier handbook. Wärtsilä is included in several sustainability indices including the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, FTSE4Good Index, Ethibel Sustainability Index (ESI) Excellence Europe, ECPI Indices, MSCI Global Sustainability Index Series, STOXX Global ESG Leaders index, and RobecoSAM Sustainability Yearbook.Why invest in Wärtsilä
Retrieved 3 April 2019.

Key figures

Key figures of 2023: *Order intake increased by 16% to EUR 7,070 million (6,074) *Order book at the end of the period increased by 13% to EUR 6,694 million (5,906) *Net sales increased by 3% to EUR 6,015 million (5,842) *Operating result increased by EUR 427 million to EUR 402 million (-26), which represents 6.7% of net sales (-0.4) *Basic earnings per share increased to 0.44 euro (-0.11) *Cash flow from operating activities increased to EUR 822 million (-62) All numbers are shown excluding non-recurring items and selling profits.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wartsila Companies listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Companies in the OMX Helsinki 25 Diesel engine manufacturers Marine engine manufacturers Engineering companies of Finland Companies established in 1834 Finnish brands Gas engine manufacturers 1834 establishments in Finland Multinational companies headquartered in Finland Locomotive engine manufacturers Electrical generation engine manufacturers