Successful First Year for Volvo Penta’s Large Marine Diesel Engines

Last year's agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has resulted in an expansion of Volvo Penta's product program. With a range of diesel engines of up to 1,700 kW, Volvo Penta can now target entirely new customer groups, thereby building the foundation for a considerable expansion of its marine commercial business segment.

Furetank Rederi AB on Donsö outside Gothenburg was the first company to acquire one of the new engines. At the end of April, the shipping company installed three 34-liter engines as generator set units in the product tanker Fure Sun, and in May, it installed three more engines in another of its tankers, the Fure Star.

"The new product program opens entirely new business opportunities for us and for our customers, and from the beginning there has been a strong interest in the new engines," says Bertil Börjesson, project manager for Volvo Penta's large marine diesel engines. Furetank Rederi AB is an example of the new category of customers Volvo Penta is now targeting. When Furetank acquired the two product tankers - Fure Sun and Fure Star - both had worn out auxiliary engines for supplying all onboard electrical power. Engine room personnel had to devote about 70 percent of their time to maintaining the old engines.

For Volvo Penta, the Furetank order involved six 34-liter diesel engines, three in each ship. All the engines have been environmentally certified regarding NOx emissions, which was in fact a condition of the contract. Moreover, the entire engine installation complies with the classification requirements of, and is classified by, Det Norske Veritas.

Sales in Europe, Asia and America To date, Volvo Penta's sales of the new engines have exceeded expectations. Orders have been coming primarily from Europe, but trends in North and South America, and Asia, also look promising. “One interesting market for Volvo Penta is Ukraine from where we have received an order of six 65-litre engines for tugboats”, says Bertil Börjesson. Volvo Penta's agreement with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries covers the entire world with the exception of Japan and Taiwan. The agreement has no connection whatsoever with the cooperation that the rest of the Volvo Group previously had with Mitsubishi Motors, which has now ended. Up to 1,700 kW

The new large marine diesels enable Volvo Penta to provide engines of up to 1,700 kW, as opposed to the previous maximum of 550 kW. Volvo Penta's marine commercial segment is facing robust expansion over the next few years: sales are to be doubled within three years. The large marine diesel engines are expected to account for a large proportion of the sales increase. Volvo Penta continues its intensive efforts to implement the new large diesel engines in the Volvo Penta product program, currently focusing on training for technicians, spare parts provision and documentation (technical manuals, user manuals and spare-parts catalogues).