Wärtsilä Finland Oy has sold the engine block machining and related operations in Delivery Centre Vaasa to Oy Leinolat Ab and the machine tool maintenance to Konecranes Finland Oy as a business transfer. Due to the transfer, 33 of the company´s current employees are transferred to new employers latest by mid-April.

The business transfer will further strengthen Wärtsilä’s position as a technology company and prepare for the activities taking place in Smart Technology Hub that will be completed next year in Vaskiluoto, Vaasa. At the same time, Leinolat Group and Konecranes will join Wärtsilä’s partner network.

“The transfer of the machine tool maintenance and engine block machining to new partners is a concrete indication of Wärtsilä’s transition from an engine manufacturer to a smart technology company. As told earlier, we are building an ecosystem and network of partners around the Smart Technology Hub. However, we do not have to wait until the Smart Technology Hub is finished. We can start developing new operating models already now. In the future no one will be able to make it on their own – and there is no reason to do everything alone – but the work will be done closely together in an ecosystem consisting of the best experts in the industry,” says Vesa Riihimäki,Managing Director, Wärtsilä Finland.

“Leinolat Group’s strategy is based on long-term partnership agreements and close cooperation with our key-customers. We have been collaborating with Wärtsilä for a long time and the transfer of the engine block machining to Leinolat Group is an important step in deepening our long-term partnership. As a Vaasa-based company it is great to get the possibility to be part of the ecosystem built around the Smart Technology Hub,” says Lars-Erik Schöring, Managing Director, Leinolat Group.

“As a partner of the Smart Technology Hub, Konecranes gets a great possibility to participate in developing procedures for the maintenance service in order to ensure efficiency of the whole ecosystem. This fits perfectly to our strategy to be a partner in activities that improve safety and predictivity, support sustainable development and enhance digitalization,” says Jukka Penttinen, Director, Konecranes Finland.

Wärtsilä’s centre of research, product development and production, Smart Technology Hub, will be completed in Vaasa during 2021. Wärtsilä is investing 83 MEUR in modern testing and production technology for the hub. The total investment in the Smart Technology Hub will be in the region of 200 MEUR.