Wärtsilä expands in Dubai and opens new offices and a workshop
Wärtsilä today opened new offices and a workshop in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to meet the rapidly growing market demand from marine and power plant customers in Dubai and in the Gulf in general.
The new workshop premises, located in the Dubai Investment Park 2 (DIP2), enable Wärtsilä to offer a wide range of services for engines, ships, automation, propellers, thrusters, alignment and in-situ machining.
“Dubai has become an important business hub in the Middle East and its growth is foreseen to continue in the future. The expansion of Wärtsilä’s portfolio of products and services in that region corresponds to our steadfast commitment to be a one-stop shop for industrial and marine customers”, says Tage Blomberg, Group Vice President, Wärtsilä Services. “Being in Dubai is being where the business needs are. Local presence is of the essence in the service business”, he adds.
The new offices and workshop have a floor area close to 10,000 m2. This is almost triple the combined size of Wärtsilä’s other locations in Dubai. The new workshop is state-of-the-art with regard to layout and equipment. It enables Wärtsilä to handle larger work in terms of dimensions and weight, and using the latest tools and other maintenance equipment. The building is 15 metres tall and is equipped with six overhead cranes with maximum capacities of 30 tonnes. As all activities are undertaken under one roof, there will be benefits in less handling and better quality work.
Wärtsilä has been operating in Dubai since 1992 and already has a number of premises there. The majority of the Wärtsilä employees in Dubai will work in the new premises, amounting to around 310 people. Currently there are some 325 people working for Wärtsilä in Dubai and this number is intended to be increased to at least 400 before the end of 2008 to handle the increased business. Wärtsilä also plans to open an office and workshop in Dubai Maritime City.
Wärtsilä has been expanding its network in the Middle East. A branch office was opened in Fujairah in April 2007, and in Bahrain in January 2008. Further offices are planned in Oman, Yemen, Egypt and Qatar, as well as additional offices and workshops in Dubai. All these branch offices will report to a local head office for the Middle East, which will be in Dubai. This local head office will serve 14 countries. There are independent branch offices in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
One of the important features of the new workshop is that it has a new parts cleaning machine which complies with environmental requirements and reduces the wastage of water. The machine works with 95% clean water and with only 5% chemicals. It has a closed system. Drainage and cleaning of the machine is only required after a certain operating time.
Another addition to the workshops is new honing technology. A new horizontal honing machine has been installed to hone cylinder liners with bore diameters from 30 mm to 840 mm. The process is CNC controlled for high accuracy and improved quality. Further new machines will be added to the workshop in the course of 2008.
