Origins
Wärtsilä was established when the governor of the county of North Karelia approved the construction of a sawmill in the municipality of Tohmajärvi, Grand Duchy of Finland on 12 April 1834. The sawmill was soon taken over by industrialist Nils Ludvig Arppe, who built ironworks in the premises. In 1898 the company was renamed Wärtsilä Ab.
Diesel engines
In 1938 the diesel engine era began when Wärtsilä signed a licence agreement with Friedrich Krupp Germania Werft AG in Germany. The first diesel engine was produced in Turku, Finland in November 1942. During the following decades more focus was put on manufacturing diesel and gas engines with the acquisitions of the Swedish firm NOHAB in 1978, the French Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques , and the Dutch Stork-Werkspoor in 1989.
In 1997 Wärtsilä absorbed the diesel motor producing New Sulzer Diesel , which had been created by Sulzer in 1990.
Hybrid engines
In 2020, Wärtsilä made plans to supply hybrid engine solutions for Finnlines.
Expanding portfolio
Through acquisitions of marine propulsion systems supplier John Crane-Lips in 2002, marine automation company Total Automation in 2006, specialist equipment company Hamworthy in 2012 and L-3 Marine Systems International in 2014, Wärtsilä expanded their portfolio considerably.
