Wärtsilä focuses on the marine and energy markets with products, solutions and services. The target markets that the company operates in are sensitive to business cycles but this is offset by the fact that the different markets consist of several sub-segments that have somewhat different business cycles. In addition, stability is brought through the Services business that accounts for appr. 35-45% of Wärtsilä’s total net sales as well as several new applications such as gas fuelled engines for both the Ship Power and Power Plants businesses. Wärtsilä’s manufacturing model brings flexibility in both manufacturing and cost structure through outsourcing and supports profitability independently of the business cycle.
Ship Power
Wärtsilä Ship Power’s main market segments are;
- Seaborne transportation
o Tankers
o LNG carriers
o Containerships
o Bulk Carriers
o General Cargo
- Offshore oil explorations and support
- Cruise ships Passenger ferries
- Government and naval
- Special vessels
Demand in the shipbuilding and shipping industry is driven by the world economy, trade and needed transport capacity. The main market driver for Wärtsilä Ship Power is the global demand for new vessels that are based on seaborne transportation, offshore oil exploration and support, cruise and ferry demand, as well as naval contracting. The demand for new vessels is also affected by shipyard capacity, ship prices, scrapping, oil prices, interest rates, freight rates and environmental aspects.
The need for energy has increased in recent years, which has increased the price of oil, intensifying the exploration and development of new oil and gas reserves. Demand has also been very buoyant during the past few years for offshore vessels and LNG carriers, areas of particular strengths for Wärtsilä.
Geographically, the hub of shipbuilding industry today is in Asia, headed by Korea and China. European shipyards concentrate on special vessels, passenger and cruise ships.
Power Plants
Wärtsilä Power Plants main customer segments are:
- Baseload generation
- Grid stability and services
- Industrial self generation
Strong growth in world economy boosts the need for electricity. High oil prices and tightening environmental norms favour high-efficiency products and works in favour of Wärtsilä’s products. Electricity consumption growth rates are fairly high in the developing world and drives demand for both Wärtsilä’s heavy fuel oil and gas power plants. In the industrialized world Wärtsilä’s demand is mainly driven by the need for stable, reliable and flexible energy that Wärtsilä power plants provide.
Demand is spread evenly around the world, which reduces risks associated with geographical concentrations and single markets. In 2006, the size of Wärtsilä’s addressable market was approximately 15,000 MW.
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