Strengthening the marine presence in Brazil

Latin America has quickly become a key strategic area for ABB’s marine business. Future plans, which include the establishment of a new Azipod C factory, marine service center and specialized Azipod service center, will help ABB to serve Brazil’s fast-growing shipbuilding industry and to fulfill the requirement for local content.

Several locations have been evaluated for setting up the new Azipod factory, including Pernambuco, Santos, and Rio De Janeiro, although the final decision has yet to be taken. The planned factory will have the annual capacity of over 30 Azipod units. The actual construction schedule will enable timely thruster delivery to Petrobras drilling units from Brazil. A service center is also planned to be opened by 2014 in Brazil. It will have dedicated and specialized Azipod service personnel, a dedicated workshop and tooling to assist in overhauls and refurbishment. The service center will also provide spare parts for the local market.