Fpt Industrial and Fincantieri
Fpt Industrial and the sea, a relationship that has gradually become stronger, to the point that the aquatic environment is coming out as one of the natural habitats of Cnh Industrial’s Powertrain segment. In Cannes (2018) we saw the reveal of the Cursor 16 with its 1,000 hp. After that, the announcement of the “gentlemen […]
Fpt Industrial and the sea, a relationship that has gradually become stronger, to the point that the aquatic environment is coming out as one of the natural habitats of Cnh Industrial’s Powertrain segment. In Cannes (2018) we saw the reveal of the Cursor 16 with its 1,000 hp. After that, the announcement of the “gentlemen agreement” with Fincantieri, a platform that projects Fpt Industrial well beyond the seven seas.
WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT FINCANTIERI AND FPT TOGETHER
The location was that of the International WorkBoat Show in New Orleans, which was also the background to another agreement, the one between Liebherr and Wärtsilä, from which the W14 was born (a familiar topic here on Diesel International).
Massimo Rubatto, Industrial Vice President, Global sales, wanted to clarify the interaction between the two multinational companies: «We always care about the needs of our customers, this is why we develop customized products. Thanks to our advanced solutions, we are able to provide the best powertrain configuration for high performance boats in all applications, even the most extreme. For example, this year we have equipped the world’s fastest diesel-powered boat with our Cursor 16, reaching a speed of 277.5 km/h for the Guinness Book of Records».
In addition, we asked Guglielmo Tummarello, Sales Director of the marine segment of Fpt Industrial to introduce us to this collaboration.
Good morning Mr. Tummarello. What is the state of the agreement?
Other than a commercial agreement, it is a strategic partnership. Fpt and Fincantieri have agreed on the synergic development of some projects. The ideas of the two protagonists are converging: Fincantieri thus satisfies the need to identify a preferential supplier in the context of propulsion.
For FPT, on the other hand, it is an opportunity to continue the path taken for some time in the direction of a global development, not only in terms of geographical expansion, but also in terms of coming out from our “comfort zone”, also in terms of applications. Fincantieri is in fact oriented towards custom and tailor made solutions.
When we talk about more innovative propulsion solutions we are not referring to the so-called alternative systems, but to customized solutions, which are not part of the standard catalog.
To give you an example, starting from the C9 (editor’s note: presented at Fincantieri’s booth at the IWBS in New Orleans) we will implement contents such as cold startability to guarantee start-up under extreme environmental conditions or the SOLAS kit to allow the engine to continue to work even after a 360° rotation. Other measures concern the number, type and location of the filters designed to reduce and simplify routine maintenance and thus minimize the relative downtime. We cannot tell you more at the moment. But surely we will be involved in very different projects, as are the areas in which Fincantieri operates, like the military context. In general, the availability of motorizations involves a wide range of solutions, for example with multiple configurations. We are also considering auxiliary solutions.
The implications on board generation?
We can anticipate that we are working together with Fincantieri on a series of projects. The background of this cooperation is our product development program which will bring to all propulsion engines a genset version.
At the heart of the common platform will there be only diesel engines?
The engineering solutions coming independently from Fpt will converge, as soon as available, in the products common to Fincantieri. The agreement focus on diesel engines, at least for now.
Why the International WorkBoat show?
It is one of the most interesting fairs in the dynamic market that is North America. It allows us to emphasize the international dimension of FPT Industrial, in tune with the one of Fincantieri.
It is clearly premature to talk about all the possible application coming from this collaboration. The agreement will be developed over time through different projects over at least the next two years.
