WARTSILA OPENS NEW OFFICE AND WORKSHOP IN BAKU
Finland`s Wartsila Corporation opened Thursday a new office and workshop in Baku. At the ceremony on the occasion, executive director of the Company Ismo Haapala said the need for the Baku office and workshop arose with the expansion of work involved with the growing number of Wartsila power plants in the country and the number of vessels on the Caspian Sea fitted with Wartsila equipment.
The new office and workshop will provide sales and support services for both power plant and marine customers locally. The new premises in Baku also will serve as a regional office for Wartsila activities in Central Asia.
The executive director said the key driving forces are the availability of local natural gas to fuel power plants, the development of local oil and gas resources, and general growth in the regional economies. The new premises demonstrate Wartsila`s intention to stay and grow in these markets.
Warstila Regional Field Service Director Jan Egberts said the company has been operating in Azerbaijan for about ten years. He added “currently Wartsila employs 59 people in Baku and the number is expected to grow to 75 in the course of this year. At the present 43 of these people are working in the premises while the remainders are employed at the various power plants in Azerbaijan. The great majority of the employees are local people and they are all trained to Wartsila`s global standards. The company presents new local employment”.
Wartsila currently has five power plants in operation in Azerbaijan with a combined output of 450 MWe at Astara, Baku, Khachmaz, Nakhchivan and Shaki. The company is also realizing 300 MWe power plant in Sangachal and 104 MWe in Guba.
The regional director underlined the new office will enable Wartsila to offer more efficient and fully focused support to the large fleet of vessels fitted with Wartsila equipment operating in the Caspian oil and gas fields.
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