Wärtsilä opens new service workshop in Manaus...

Wärtsilä Corporation, Press release, 9 April 2008 at 9 am EET

Wärtsilä inaugurated yesterday a new workshop in Manaus, Brazil, to
serve the growing number of customers in the Amazon region of Brazil.

At present there are 17 power plants designed and installed by
Wärtsilä in Brazil. They have a combined generating capacity of more
than 780 MWe. The largest of the plants is the 157 MWe Rio Negro
power plant in Manaus itself, which operates 24 hours a day. Three of
these 17 power plants run on natural gas and the others on heavy or
light fuel oil.

"Energy and marine markets in Brazil have developed and created new
needs in terms of operation and management (O&M) services, technical
expertise and lifecycle support," says Tage Blomberg, Group Vice
President, Services. "Wärtsilä offers a full range of professional
products and services to address these needs and naturally invests to
accompany the Brazilian business growth."

The total installed capacity in the Manaus Energia grid in the Amazon
region is 1200 MWe with an average load of approximately 900 MWe of
which 415 MWe is operated, manned and maintained by Wärtsilä under
O&M agreements. Services are provided to many more. The work involved
in these service agreements will be managed from the new Manaus
workshop.

"We opened our first branch office in 1998 in Manaus. The current
investment in the new workshop was required to renew our commitment
to customers in the Amazon region with their additional installed
plant. With this investment we will bring first-class service for the
electricity generation industry as well as for river traffic in the
region" says, Tomas Hakala, President of Wärtsilä in Brazil.
Currently, Wärtsilä has 180 dedicated employees working at the new
Manaus workshop.


Training for customers and Wärtsilä employees in the Land and Sea
Academy

An important aspect of the work at the Manaus workshop will be the
Wärtsilä Land & Sea Academy training facilities for training both
local Wärtsilä employees and the customers' staff. The emphasis in
the training programmes will be on maintenance, safety, plant
operations, plant management and first aid.


Wärtsilä in Brazil

Wärtsilä has more than 400 employees in Brazil. In addition to
Manaus, Wärtsilä Brazil has operations in Rio de Janeiro and the
state of Pernambuco. Apart from the extent of Wärtsilä's power plant
and services business, Wärtsilä also has a growing marine business in
Brazil. This is especially true in the offshore market. The Brazilian
shipbuilding industry is also re-emerging. It is being developed to
meet the needs of both deep-sea and coastal shipping.


For further information, please contact:
Mr Atte Palomäki, Group Vice president, Corporate Communications,
tel: [phone]


Link to pictures

Caption 1: Wärtsilä inaugurated a new workshop in Manaus, Brazil.
From left to right: Robson Campos, Regional Manager, Wärtsilä South
America East, Power Plants; Marcelo de Castro Lima Filho, Governor
Representative; Tage Blomberg, Wärtsilä Corporation, Group Vice
President, Services; Tomas Hakala, Managing Director, Wärtsilä in
Brasil and Fabian Furque, Branch Manager, Wärtsilä in Brasil.

Caption 2: The new Wärtsilä workshop in Manaus, Brazil.


About Wärtsilä Corporation:
Wärtsilä enhances the business of its customers by providing them
with complete lifecycle power solutions. When creating better and
environmentally compatible technologies, Wärtsilä focuses on the
marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as
services. Through innovative products and services, Wärtsilä sets out
to be the most valued business partner of all its customers. This is
achieved by the dedication of more than 16,000 professionals manning
150 Wärtsilä locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is
listed on The Nordic Exchange in Helsinki, Finland.
www.wartsila.com