New Kongsberg Sensor Factory, China
Kongsberg Maritime China Jiangsu (KMCJ), a new 2880m2 sensor production facility located in the Norwegian Industrial Park in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, China, was officially opened on Nov. 30 2009 during a traditional Chinese ceremony attended by over 150 guests. In February 2009, work started on the modern new sensor production facility, which is based on the same methodology and processes used at Kongsberg Maritime's Trondheim, Norway.
"The establishment of KMCJ was an international effort, involving a number of people from different departments, from our sensor production facility in Trondheim and other Kongsberg Maritime sites," commented Håvard Johnsen, General Manager, KMCJ.
"We currently have 15 employees, all of whom were hand-picked for their positions. As a high-tech, international technology company we are dedicated to bringing only the best people onboard and although most key personnel are now in place, the headcount at KMCJ will continue to grow," said Johnsen.
"Far East Asia engine manufacturers constitute a large portion of the potential market for the standard sensors produced by Kongsberg Maritime, whilst we have also identified a direct requirement from shipyards for the delivery of our sensor products," said Andreas Jagtøyen, Vice President of Kongsberg Maritime's Merchant Marine sensor division in Trondheim (MM-T). "The sensor production lines set up at KMCJ are intended for larger volumes and mass production for these customers, while in Trondheim, we will take care of customer specific sensors, spare parts and European orders." The KMCJ production facility also features a state-of-the-art mechanical workshop, with a range of advanced CNC-machining centres, and other workshop machinery for production of sensor parts and other mechanical components. This will ensure the continued quality and reliability of Kongsberg Maritime sensor products in addition to enabling a competitive market offering. "To ensure the right product quality and to meet the market price, it was necessary to in-source and take control over the mechanical production of our sensors," explained Oddbjørn Malmo, Production Manager at MM-T. The new KMCJ building is part of a larger project to establish a significant KONGSBERG presence in Zhenjiang, following the purchase of 55,000m2 of land in the area. Over 30,000m2 of modern production facilities are scheduled to be in place by 2012, representing Kongsberg Maritime's largest production operation outside of Norway.
