Powertrain | Diesel International 2022-09

INTERVIEW
#FPTINDUSTRIAL #RECREATIONAL #COMMERCIAL #USA #CHINA
FPT INDUSTRIAL
USA
AND
CHINA
EMBRACING A RED HORIZON...
FPT Industrial’s Red Horizon, a marine integrated electronic
control and monitoring system, was named Gold Winner
of the 2021 edition of the New York Product Design Awards.
Red Horizon was awarded in the Watercraft Category for
successfully consolidating technology, performance, power
and design in a beautiful zero-emission powerboat concept.
Launched in 2019 at the Cannes Yachting Festival, Red
Horizon is FPT Industrial’s integration of the most advanced
marine technologies in engine, monitoring and control
systems. Developed in partnership with two leading global
companies – ZF, a technology supplier of next-generation
mobility systems, and Navico (Simrad), a manufacturer
of marine electronics – Red Horizon guarantees full
navigation control and safety, optimal driving comfort,
and easy handling and harboring. The winning entry was
presented together with the Marine Configuration of the
Cursor X, FPT Industrial’s 4.0 Modular Engine Concept for
a sustainable future. The Red Horizon project is presented
within a unique environment, whose design is inspired by
the automotive world, luxury cars and villas, and vintage
Italian boats, resulting in a comfortable bridge with a touch
of minimalism, where customers can feel at home.
FPT Industrial to conquer the seven
seas. This could be the title
of the interview with Gugliemo
Tummarello, Marine Market
Segment Director. “The development
strategy for marine technology has a
watchword, globalisation, in a dual
meaning: both in terms of product
and in terms of purely geographical
expression,” is the circumstantial confirmation
that comes from Tummarello’s
first statements. “FPT Industrial
initially focused on the European
area, by far the most dynamic, the one
with the highest volumes. Having over
time acquired a significant market
share in the Old Continent, we have
been forced to look at other scenarios,
which for us are still emerging. A renewed
focus on product development,
to adapt the products currently sold in
Europe to overseas markets, was the
necessary step for moving forward.
We have increased the availability of
EPA compliant ratings, with the necessary
adaptations at the data set level
of our engines, to be compliant with
both pleasure and commercial, which
have different regulations. Having
a much more extensive line-up now,
compared to five years ago, we have
built a tailor-made approach for the
FPT Industrial’s marine
applications are
spreading on a global
scale, as witnessed
by the trend in China
and the United States
dealer. This partnership has been in
place for quite some time and has
been waiting for a set of products in
line with the needs of US shipyards
and final users. With a very competitive
portfolio, in a market where innovation
is not only welcome but also
rewarded, if users are supported by
an efficient after sales service. Once
these conditions are met, the Americans
go in search of performance,
sometimes understood as peak power,
sometimes as TCO. In both cases
we stand up to any challenge, whether
it is the power curve for pleasure
boats or low fuel consumption and
torque rise for commercial ones. In
recent years, the American market
has played a key role in growth. As
is often the case, confronted with a
new market, new demands and the
challenges of a different audience,
we have gathered and capitalised on
the feedback from our stakeholders,
which has allowed us to improve the
product globally (American dealers
are MSHS, Stauffer Diesel and Madsen
Power, editor’s note).”
It is not only the US that is driving
Fpt’s boom in the marine industry.
Exactly, we have also followed a similar
path in China. Until three years
ago we had no products to position
within the applications that required
CCS emission certification and China
GB15097, which allows navigation
in restricted areas on rivers.
Having corrected the segment of the
range that was most attractive to Chinese
audience, we were able to sell
spot on some projects and become
more noticeable overall in that context.
So when we bade for a tender
that seemed very important to us, we
won it with the N67 570 engine, after
having supplied the engine for a prototype
boat that was the best among
those that participated in that tender.
Eminent, our only Chinese dealer, has
been working with us for decades and
also covers other applications. Specifically,
our 6.7-litre will power some
Ribs, 7.5-metre inflatable boat. The
Chinese market is very particular, as
are its users, because of what we call
the “competitive scenario”, due to a
huge barrier to entry for local manufacturers.
We only go for certain profiles,
where the technological content
is appreciated and the mission is important.
Keel cooling applications are
still at an emerging stage and can be
appreciated in China’s large rivers,
which can show very muddy bottoms.
NEF and Cursor?
The NEF range is the one that typically
drives sales, on average over
70 percent. In the last period, the C9
range, suitably revised and corrected,
is achieving excellent results and together
with the N67 is the best-selling
range in the US, where if you added
up the Cursor and NEF it would result
in a fifty-fifty split, we are growing
significantly compared to the very
good 2021, equally on recreational
and commercial. The only difficulty
that could be on the horizon is the
shortage of boat-side components,
both electronics and precision mechanics,
which could slow down the
industry during 2023.
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