Kawasaki Celebrates a Century of Technical Agreement with MAN

Tokyo, October 24, 2011―Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. announced today that this year marks the centennial anniversary of its technical agreement with the European company MAN Diesel & Turbo (formerly M.A.N.) on diesel engines. Of all the companies that are currently in partnership with MAN Diesel & Turbo, Kawasaki boasts the longest history with the company. 

When Kawasaki first entered into a contract with M.A.N. back in 1911, merchant vessels were still powered with steam engines, and no one was using diesel engines.  It was in such times that the first president of the company, Kojiro Matsukata, signed a technology agreement with M.A.N. to adopt its diesel engine as the main engine for submarines. There were temporary hiatuses in the relationship due to the two World Wars, but the relationship was resumed each time and continues to this day. 

Although diesel engines were originally intended to be used on submarines, their applications subsequently widened to include the main propulsion engine for merchant vessels, auxiliary generator engines, land-based generator engines, and engines for diesel locomotives. To this day, Kawasaki has manufactured numerous engines in a wide range of applications. Kawasaki has also been manufacturing turbochargers since 1980 under a license from MAN. Kawasaki offers many products by MAN Diesel & Turbo in its lineup, including two-stroke and four-stroke diesel engines as well as turbochargers.

Standing on its firm relationship with MAN Diesel & Turbo, Kawasaki will continue to produce reliable, ultra efficient and environmentally friendly diesel engines and turbochargers.