The Finnish electric drive train specialist Visedo continues to increase its system expertise in marine solutions by acquiring Electric Power Conversion B.V. (EPC) from the Netherlands. This acquisition will allow Visedo to strengthen its offering in terms of electric propulsion and power generation solutions for marine applications. The acquisition of EPC also brings a team of experienced engineers and an existing sales backlog and pipeline. EPC had over 2 million euros profitable revenue in 2014.

Lappeenranta 11th of January 2016 - EPC, a long term integrator and development partner of Visedo, is active in the design and delivery of latest technology power train solutions mainly for marine applications with already several years of experience with Visedo technology. With this acquisition, Visedo adds a new system development center, incorporating a team of engineers from EPC. The technical capability of Visedo in marine engineering will be greatly increased with the addition of these competences, and in particular in the field of latest technology marine power train systems such as diesel electric DC grid, hybrid and full electric drive trains for vessels. EPC has a large number of existing customers in marine applications and has a significant sales pipeline. The Electric Power Conversion B.V. name will be replaced by the name Visedo B.V. and the founder and MD of EPC, Pieter Dijkstra is appointed as Managing Director.

For enhancing the cooperation further it became obvious that joining forces even more tightly would be the correct step. Some of the latest success stories from the cooperation are, for example, the DC grid power system for Västtrafik passenger ferries in Gothenburg, Sweden, Wider Superyachts in Italy as well as the Damen Eco-liner inland vessel project in the Netherlands.

WIDER 150 Superyacht powered by VISEDO PowerDRUM motors and generators - delivered by EPC in 2015 (Picture by Wider)

Dr. Kimmo Rauma, CEO of Visedo, commented: ”We are very happy to be able to announce this important advancement in our company’s continued growth, which is fully in line with our strategy on offering complete system solutions. EPC has know-how that complements very well Visedo’s current business and brings a strong presence especially to the European marine market. This is an important step for our company in becoming the leading solution provider in short sea shipping sector.”

Pieter Dijkstra, Managing Director of EPC, added: ”The Visedo technology is a game changer in the Marine industry, which makes new solutions and configurations possible for ship designers and shipyards. Thanks to the extremely compact and very robust design with high efficiency of the motors and inverters, Visedo technology has been the force behind EPC´s growing success in the Marine industry. Joining the two companies together is a crucial step in getting to the next level of growth for the joint company and providing best support for our customers.”

Regulation and voluntary measures of companies with higher environmental awareness drive the technology development that offers better performance and optimization for the lifecycle in terms of less cost and less harmful impact on the environment. The following years will show a huge increase in demand for hybrid, diesel-/gas-electric and fully electric internal waterway and short sea shipping applications due to their capability of cutting emissions and operation cost in vessels with varying operation profile, a lot of operation at partial loads and multipurpose use. The ship owners and builders will require these solutions to be provided by industrial companies with systematic working practices, comprehensive offering and vision & commitment to serve the market with consistency.

For further information

Markku Hokkanen, Visedo Oy, Mobile +358 40 157 0999, markku.hokkanen@visedo.com

Pieter Dijkstra, Visedo B.V. – Mobile +31 621 591 498, pieter.dijkstra@visedo.com