Products & services

Caterpillar ships first MaK dual fuel engine to MHI to power AIDA newbuild

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 03 July 2013 03 July 2013

Caterpillar Marine Power Systems is pleased to announce the shipment of the first MaK M 46 DF dual fuel marine engine. The M 46 DF, Caterpillar’s first marine dual fuel solution, will power a newbuild ordered by Germany’s AIDA cruises. Three 12 M 43 C marine engines will also power the cruise liner. The engine left the MaK Rostock, Germany facility en route to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Japan. Upon arrival, it will immediately be placed in the ship’s hull.

"We’re pleased to deliver our first dual fuel marine product to AIDA cruise lines, a longtime collaborator and partner," said Detlef Kirste, Caterpillar Marine Power Systems Senior Product Definition Engineer. "The M 46 DF will provide AIDA with superior performance and operational flexibility without sacrificing power or reliability."

Able to alternate from gas to diesel mode during operation, the M 46 DF offers the flexibility to operate vessels reliably in all geographical areas, whether the fuel in use is gas, marine diesel oil (MDO) or heavy fuel oil (HFO). In gas mode, the M 46 DF features industry-leading fuel consumption and will comply with IMO III as well as EPA Tier 4 regulations. The engine has been designed to allow retrofitting of current M 43 C engines.

With a bore of 460 millimeters and stroke of 610, the engine was designed for electric drive propulsion systems as well as mechanical propulsion systems. Although designed for unlimited operation on LNG, marine diesel oil and heavy fuel oil, the M 46 DF will reach industry- leading efficiency in gas mode.

Caterpillar offers its renowned service and support for the MaK dual fuel engine, including installation and application, system integration support, as well as customer and crew training. The M 46 DF is distributed and sold through Caterpillar’s MaK dealer network.

Lufthansa Systems to provide IT network on AIDA newbuildings

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 01 July 2013 01 July 2013

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) entrusted Lufthansa Systems to provide the IT infrastructure onboard of two new AIDA ships, which are currently build by MHI at Nagasaki Shipyards in Japan. The two new ships for AIDA Cruises with a capacity for around 3,300 passengers will set new standards with regard to product content and passenger comfort. Lufthansa Systems has been selected to supply the infrastructure for LAN and Wi-Fi onboard and the platform for the ship's telephony system (VoIP). The delivery of the first AIDA ship is expected in spring 2015 while the second ship is expected to be completed in spring 2016.

"We are excited that AIDA and MHI decided to engage us with the provision of the IT infrastructure and we are proud to extend our long-term partnership with AIDA," said Bernd Appel, SVP Industry Solutions at Lufthansa Systems "With our solution these ships will have the latest technology in the field of convergence services for cruise lines on board. At low cost of ownership AIDA will be able to offer passengers of these ships a rich choice of infotainment and communication", he added.

Already with the last seven AIDA cruise ships, Lufthansa Systems proofed its ability to integrate complex and customized IT solutions that match perfectly with its infrastructure solutions. AIDA ships are known for their rather youthful style and their many modern onboard amenities and facilities. Therefore, it seems almost indispensable to supply the ships with the latest IT technology and to cater for the needs of their young and Internet affine customers.

MHI was founded in 1884 and has a long history in engineering, manufacture and sale of ships. It is known for the quality of its products. In Japan, MHI owns five yards where they build several ship types.

MEIKO appoints new head of export sales and marketing

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 18 June 2013 18 June 2013

Klaus Engesser has been appointed as MEIKO's new head of export sales and marketing for dishwashing technology. This appointment marks an important step forward for the Offenburg, Germany-based manufacturer of commercial dishwashers and cleaning and disinfection appliances, which is determined to continue enhancing the quality of its export business team, as MEIKO Managing Director Burkhard Randel explains: "Klaus Engesser will be a great asset to our team and we're delighted to have him on board. As well as his previous managerial experience running subsidiaries and sales companies in the export department of a major company, he has also spent several years building up an extensive knowledge of the commercial kitchen appliances sector."

Founded 86 years ago, MEIKO has annual sales of 260 million euros, over 50 percent of which are generated by exports to more than 60 countries. The long-established company is now pursuing a forward-looking strategy focusing on the strategic internationalisation of its business fields and organic growth.

"MEIKO is a dynamic, global brand and a company that values innovation, so it's a great opportunity for me to apply my skills," says Engesser. MEIKO currently has ten affiliated companies in Germany, six in the rest of Europe and four outside Europe, as well as two production facilities in the USA and China. Engesser anticipates that his new role at the company will be "an exciting challenge". In a statement, he also explained that MEIKO's high quality standards and outstanding innovation capabilities are key drivers for successfully marketing the German-made machines worldwide and giving the company's "clean solutions" a prominent presence in the commercial dishwashing arena.

He noted that he has always perceived MEIKO from the outside as a brand that represents innovation, reliability and customer focus and emphasised that he is looking forward to playing an active role in further enhancing MEIKO's position on the world stage.

Engesser considers that one of his key tasks will be to continue expanding the company's sales activities in existing markets while building up its own distribution structures. He also intends to focus on opening up new sales markets and exploiting their full potential. "We're already in a great position thanks to MEIKO's outstanding product portfolio and high quality standards. My goal is to grow the company in all its different product areas. The key is not just to acquire new customers, but also to turn them into active promoters of our brand," Engesser explains.

He ranks networking as one of his most important tools – which suggests that MEIKO may have found the perfect messenger for the MEIKO brand.

The 42-year-old manager studied business administration at Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences before continuing his studies College of Design, Technology and Business at the Luis Vives University of Madrid. Before joining MEIKO, Engesser worked as a market director at the metalworking company Roto Frank AG (annual turnover: 655 million euros) where he was responsible for exports to various different countries and sales companies. He will be drawing on these many years of managerial experience in sales and marketing in his new position at MEIKO. He also spent three years as a regional sales manager at Blanco, a period during which he gained key insights into the commercial kitchen appliances sector. Klaus Engesser is married and has two children.

Wightlink Ferries to introduce CarRes reservation and ticketing system

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 25 June 2013 25 June 2013

Wightlink Ferries has announced it will be introducing the market-leading CarRes reservation and ticketing system.

The decision to replace the existing system was made in order to improve reliability as well as to enable the company to offer an improved booking service to customers. This investment is the latest development in a five year capital programme which has seen Wightlink investing over £50m in new ships and improved facilities at each of its ports which, along with this investment, will help the Company achieve its mission which is simply ‘to be the Preferred Choice of Operator for cross-Solent Travel’ and help position the Company firmly as ‘Part of Island Life’.

IT Director Stuart James said “This decision represents a significant investment by Wightlink and illustrates our determination to provide a reliable and customer-focused service, which is adaptable to our customers’ changing needs into the future. Despite stiff competition from other suppliers, the CarRes system was a clear choice, and I am confident that our customers and staff will find it meets their needs both today and into the future.”

In addition to the core CarRes booking and ticketing functionality, the project will provide the opportunity to deploy the latest online booking technology (including a mobile optimized site in the future), the web based Business Intelligence module and the Carus port automation framework which will initially support the handheld embarkation scanners.

Carus CEO Anders Rundberg, said “We are delighted to welcome Wightlink Ferries to the growing number of companies around the world who are using CarRes. We will be working closely with the Project Team to deliver a seamless transition.”

CarRes will be hosted within the Carus data centre in Mariehamn, Finland and will be implemented during the coming months with an anticipated project completion by the end of 2013.

Wärtsilä launches a new more powerful version of its Wärtsilä 34DF engine

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: Products & services Products & services; Published: 18 June 2013 18 June 2013

Wärtsilä, the marine industry's leading solutions and services provider, has further developed its dual fuel technology and introduced a more powerful version of its popular Wärtsilä 34DF engine. The Wärtsilä 34DF engine has proven to be a highly efficient and reliable solution for a wide range of vessel applications. The latest version is expected to expand that range even further. Lower fuel consumption of this engine will further improve its environmental performance.

Since 2003, the Wärtsilä 34DF has paved the way in the LNG-fuelled offshore support vessel market. Today this product is being mainly used in tugs, ferries, Ro-Ro, Ro-Pax and workboats.The new and upgraded version of the Wärtsilä 34DF engine increases the efficiency in both liquid and gas operating modes and offers a power increase up to 500kw per cylinder.

This increased output means that the Wärtsilä 34DF now covers a power range from 2,9 MW to 8 MW. In addition to the increase in power, fuel economy is also enhanced, especially when operating in liquid fuel mode. This, together with the high loading capability and the proven reliability of the Wärtsilä 34DF engine, is seen as giving the new version a strong competitive advantage.

"The Wärtsilä 34DF engine has been a popular choice of ship owners, operators, and yards for a long time already, and this next generation version will certainly enhance its popularity. By improving both the power and fuel efficiency, we aim to maintain the leading position that we have in gas engine technology and as a gas engine manufacturer. It is also important to point out that the environmental performance of the Wärtsilä 34DF is already excellent, and by lowering the fuel consumption we are also lowering the exhaust emissions even further," says Mr Giulio Tirelli, Director, Wärtsilä Ship Power, 4-stroke Portfolio & Applications.

When operating in gas mode, the Wärtsilä 34DF engine is already compliant with IMO Tier III regulations without any secondary exhaust gas purification systems. Also when fuelled by gas, the SOx and CO2 emissions are notably reduced, and smokeless operation is attained. In liquid fuel oil mode, the Wärtsilä dual-fuel engines are fully compliant with the IMO Tier II exhaust emissions regulations set out in Annex VI of the MARPOL 73/78 convention. The engine is able to operate efficiently and economically on low sulphur fuels (<0.1% S), making it suitable for operation in emission-controlled areas. The newly obtained certification of emission standard compliance from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Wärtsilä 34DF further endorses the environmental compliance of this engine.