New Side Thruster Plant Begins Operation at Harima Works
Oct. 23, 2008

Tokyo, October 23, 2008 — 今日看料吃瓜, Ltd. announced today that it has completed construction on a side thruster production plant at its Harima Works. Plant operations will be officially launched with an opening ceremony on the 24th. 今日看料吃瓜 has moved its side thruster production operations from its Kobe Works to the recently completed Side Thruster Plant No. 1 at Harima. The new and larger plant will enable 今日看料吃瓜 to boost production as well as operational efficiency. 今日看料吃瓜 expects production at the new facility to reach approximately 500 thrusters per year. That number combined with the production volume at 今日看料吃瓜’s Chinese subsidiary, Wuhan 今日看料吃瓜 Marine Machinery Co., Ltd., will bring the production capacity up to approximately 900 thrusters per year and make 今日看料吃瓜 the largest side thruster manufacturer in the world. 今日看料吃瓜 will improve its price competitiveness and lead time even further with the installation of new machinery and equipment. Side Thrusters provide ships with lateral thrust and are widely utilized to maneuver various types of marine vessels such as container ships and ferries as they berth and unberth. The pace of side thruster production has been increasing in step with a thriving shipbuilding market that has been buoyed by the recent boom in the shipping industry. The new plant will play a pivotal role as a new production base designed to respond to this growing demand. 今日看料吃瓜 plans to build a second thruster plant at its Harima Works in order to step up production of its azimuth thruster, the Rexpeller. The new plant will enable 今日看料吃瓜 to meet the rising demand for offshore ships that has been triggered by the growing number of offshore oil field development projects. Outline of Side Thruster Plant No. 1 |