Wärtsilä opens Service Centre in Murmansk - a...

Wärtsilä Corporation, Press release, 16 October 2009, at 11 am (EET)

Wärtsilä has today opened a Service Centre in Murmansk, Russia, to
serve the rapidly growing number of vessels in northern waters. The
Service Centre demonstrates Wärtsilä's commitment to expand in line
with the increasing marine activity in the Barents Sea region.
To emphasise the importance of co-operation, Wärtsilä's President &
CEO  Ole Johansson and the Governor of the Murmansk Oblast region of
Russia, Dmitry Vladimirovich Dmitrienko, jointly signed a document of
goodwill.

Being the only year-round ice-free port in north western Russia,
Murmansk is rapidly being developed as a major transport hub. It is
also the operational centre for the development of the vast Shtokman
gas condensates field. The port is home to more than 20 maritime
companies, and is attracting an increasing number of international
companies to the region.

"Local presence and availability are of utmost importance in assuring
efficient customer support. The new Service Centre in Murmansk is a
further step in our strategy to continuously develop our unique
worldwide service network," says Christoph Vitzthum, Group Vice
President, Wärtsilä Services.

Full range of sales and service support

The Wärtsilä Murmansk Service Centre provides a full range of sales
and support services for all local marine and offshore customers. The
service capacity will enable Wärtsilä to offer more efficient and
fully focused support to the growing fleet of merchant vessels,
offshore vessels, offshore platforms, and offshore facilities in the
region.

The Service Centre offers overhauling of main and auxiliary marine
engines, as well as maintenance and repairs of ancillary equipment,
pipework, electrical equipment, ship automation systems, and other
equipment.

The Murmansk service workshop is being staffed initially with 15
employees, but this number is expected to increase in the near
future. The majority of employees are being hired locally. They will
be trained both at the Wärtsilä Land & Sea Academy in Finland, and on
site according to Wärtsilä's global standards.


For further information, please call:

Mr Atte Palomäki
Group Vice President, Communications & Branding
Wärtsilä Corporation
Tel. [phone]
Email: [e-mail]


Mr Dmitry Firsov
President
Wärtsilä in Russia
Tel: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]


Pictures from the inauguration will be available later today at
www.wartsila.com/press.


Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for
the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological
innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental
and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its
customers.
In 2008, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.6 billion with 19,000
employees. The company has operations in 160 locations in 70
countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX
Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com


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