Finnish technology group Wärtsilä is building the Smart Technology Hub, a new centre of research, product development and production, in Vaskiluoto, Vaasa. The centre will invite other operators in the sectors and researchers to collaborate. The vision is to create a partners’ campus where research and product development take place together with customers and suppliers, start-ups in the sector and universities.
As of 2020, all of Wärtsilä’s functions and personnel in central Vaasa will transfer to the new hub, along with the logistics and maintenance workshop operations from Runsor.
As a part of the project, Wärtsilä will invest EUR 83 million in modern testing and production technology for the hub. The total investment in the Smart Technology Hub will be in the region of EUR 200 million, consisting of office and factory buildings, logistics and infrastructure.
The Smart Technology Hub is the latest tangible step in Wärtsilä’s Smart Marine and Smart Energy visions. The hub is expected to enable more agile, more efficient testing and product development of solutions for the maritime, oil and gas industries, as well as new energy systems.
Planning of the Smart Technology Hub is underway, and the new centre will open its doors in Vaskiluoto in 2020. The Vaasa region is already the leading energy technology cluster in the Nordic region, and the developing area of Vaskiluoto.
Wärtsilä’s transformation into a technology services company has necessitated property investments in smart technology in recent years. In April 2018, the company announced plans to set up a cyber academy in Singapore, in cooperation with Templar Executives, with the aim to improve the collective cyber maturity of the shipping community.
