Following plans to scale down manufacturing in Trieste, Italy, Wärtsilä has now announced the site has been sold to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). 255 employees and the production facility have already been transferred, with the rest of the buildings and assets to follow later this autumn.
In July 2022, technology group Wärtsilä announced a plan to ramp down manufacturing in Trieste and to centralise its 4-stroke engine manufacturing in Europe to Vaasa, Finland. The production activities in Trieste have since been discontinued, with manufacturing volumes centralised in Vaasa.
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Still R&D and other services in Trieste
While production activities for Wärtsilä in Trieste have already been discontinued, Trieste will remain an important site for Wärtsilä with R&D, sales, project management, sourcing, service, and training activities.
‘At the core of our strategy is to shape the decarbonisation of marine and energy industries, requiring continuous focus on competitiveness and operational efficiency. As planned, we now have a strong European industrial base in Vaasa and will continue to also support our customers with our expertise in Trieste as part of the global Wärtsilä team,’ says Håkan Agnevall, president and CEO of Wärtsilä.
Roger Holm, president of Wärtsilä’s Marine business, adds: ‘With this transaction, we are now able to increase clarity to the transferring employees after a period of uncertainty. Wärtsilä in Italy will continue serving our customers through our expert teams in Trieste, Genoa, Naples and Taranto.’
Picture: Wärtsilä’s Sustainable Technology Hub in Vaasa (by Wärtsilä).
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