Caption: The new joint venture company agreement is signed by Mr Yang Guobing, Chairman of CSSC Electronics Technology Co., Ltd, Mr Ma Yunxiang, Vice chief Economist, Director of Planning and Development Department, CSSC and Mr Stephan Kuhn, Vice President, Electrical & Automation, Wärtsilä Marine Solutions.

Technology group Wärtsilä and China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) have signed a new joint venture company agreement. The new joint venture, to be known as CSSC Wärtsilä Electrical & Automation Co Ltd (CWE&A), will focus on the growing Chinese electrical & automation (E&A) market, especially for high-tech ship applications. The joint venture company is expected to be fully operational before the middle of 2017.

China is a growing market within the high-tech ships segment, and Chinese yards are increasingly active in newbuild projects for high-tech and high-added value ships. CWE&A will supply China based customers with Wärtsilä electrical and automation systems and equipment for these ships. The business scope will include project engineering, project management, commissioning and supply management of automation, navigation and communication systems, dynamic positioning systems, electric propulsion systems, power distribution systems, entertainment systems, architectural lighting, safety and security systems, and full systems integration.

"First of all, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to CSSC for their good collaboration and visionary leadership. The CWE&A joint venture enables both Wärtsilä and CSSC to serve our customers better here in the world's largest shipbuilding market. Vessels are becoming more complex, with E&A solutions being increasingly important, and as digitalisation enters the marine industry CWE&A will be well positioned to meet the needs of its customers in this field," says Jaakko Eskola, CEO of Wärtsilä.

"We have a history of good and open cooperation with Wärtsilä over many years, and we can now look forward to another successful joint venture. Wärtsilä's state-of-the-art technologies and our strong market position in China form the foundation for being able to give our customers the best possible service with advanced E&A solutions," says Mr Wu Qiang, President of CSSC.

The joint venture owners are CSSC Electronics Technology Co Ltd and Wärtsilä.