Page 52: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2022)

MARITIME PROPULSION

With a cumulative 650 manufacturing employees split be- at their cumulative skillsets and personnel to ensure that the tween the two plants, Wabtec typically builds about 1,500 organization maintains the ability to serve the end customer, engines per year, primarily for locomotive as well as marine. remaining “the right ? t for Wabtec.”

In addition to engineering a strong product to start, Wabtec While the main manufacturing facility has been around fully realizes the power of a quali? ed dealer partner network, since 1971, it’s virtually a new and modern plant courtesy of or ‘Channel Partners’ as Wabtec calls them, according to a 2017 transformation via General Electric “Brilliant Factory”

Tamara Gromacki, VP, Marine, Stationary Power and Drill program, with upgraded machinery – including NC machin-

Business. Wabtec monitors its channel partner performance ing, laser etching, laser welding, robotic cell and full emis- closely, and “if we see that they may be struggling in some sions testing as well – plus new lighting and paint.

service area, Pete Twichell and his team will go in and try With its in-house test beds, Wabtec is able to experiment to help them increase their skillsets.” Becoming and remain- with a full range of technologies and fuels to ensure that its ing a Wabtec channel partner is not in perpetuity, as contracts engines are not only ready to meet the challenges today but to generally run for a year or two, and the renewal process looks effectively future-proof the engine for changes coming. The “THE WABTEC ADVANTAGE WITH ITS TIER 4 ENGINE STARTS

WITH THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO UREA NEEDED.” – Matthew Hart, Platform Leader,

Marine & Stationary Power Systems, Wabtec

Photo courtesy Wabtec 52 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • August 2022

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