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MEIKO appoints new head of export sales and marketing

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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.

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

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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.

Viking Cruises selects MAN engines to power its new ocean-going cruise ships

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Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 15 June 2013 15 June 2013

MAN Diesel & Turbo is to supply eight engines for the diesel-electric propulsion of two cruise ship newbuildings to Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A., world leader in cruise shipbuilding. The company is delivering the engines in cooperation with Alfa Laval who will supply accompanying exhaust-gas-treatment systems (PureSOx) for sulphur-oxide removal.

Each cruise ship will be powered by 2 × MAN 9L32/44CR + 2 × MAN 12V32/44CR engines, providing a combined output of 23,520 kW in a diesel-electric propulsion arrangement. The engines will operate with MAN Diesel & Turbo’s well-proven, state- of-the-art, common-rail injection system, suitable for both heavy fuel oil and distillate fuels. This technology, developed in-house by MAN Diesel & Turbo and fully optimised for its engines, provides superior performance in terms of fuel consumption and smoke emissions, especially at part-load.

Sokrates Tolgos – MAN Diesel & Turbo – Head of Cruise & Ferry Sales said: "We feel extremely honoured to have won Fincantieri, the world’s largest cruise shipbuilder, as a new customer for our engines in this high-added-value market segment. Fincantieri’s and Viking Ocean Cruises’ confidence in realising such a technologically leading and innovative cruise project with MAN Diesel & Turbo and Alfa Laval, our consortium partner, signals a new era of cooperation. We consider it an historical step for our future growth in the cruise and ferry business.”

Tolgos continued: “By combining MAN’s efficiency-leading 32/44CR engines with the PureSOx exhaust-gas-treatment system, these super-luxury cruise vessels can fulfill the increasingly stringent global requirements for permissible sulphur-oxide emissions in the most economical manner possible. This especially applies to the demanding limit of 0.1% sulphur fuel equivalent in Emission Controlled Areas (ECAs).”
 
With a total passenger capacity of 936 and a crew to passenger ratio of approximately 1:2, the ships are destined to serve the segment demand for small, super-luxury vessels. Delivery of the two newbuildings to the ship owner is scheduled for early 2015 and early 2016, respectively.

Herkules Private Equity buys Umoe Schat-Harding and Noreq

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Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen

Category: Products & services Products & services

Published: 14 June 2013 14 June 2013

Herkules Private Equity has agreed to buy life saving equipment companies Umoe Schat-Harding and Noreq. The combined group will have pro forma net sales of NOK1.2 billion in 2013 and their product ranges will complement each other well. The merged company will also have the largest service network of its kind in the world. The move means consolidation in the life saving equipment market, which remains fragmented at the moment, Umoe Schat-Harding said in a statement.