Rolls-Royce has acquired Servowatch Systems, a UK-based international supplier of integrated marine automation solutions for navies, commercial vessels and large yachts. Representatives of Rolls-Royce's Power Systems business unit and the company’s previous owner, the Indian engineering, procurement and construction projects, manufacturing, defence and services group Larsen & Toubro, signed the contracts on 1 December.
Servowatch, based in Heybridge, Essex, will significantly expand the ship automation division of the MTU product and solution brand of Rolls-Royce’s Power Systems business.
“Servowatch’s modern and sophisticated range of automation and integrated bridge systems for government and commercial ships and large yachts is the ideal complement to continue to offer sophisticated total system solutions for marine propulsion systems and the entire ship automation sector,” said Andreas Schell, CEO Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
“Building on a state of the art automation platform and connecting it with our MTU SmartBridge and Digital Solutions we consequently follow our system strategy and being able to provide a fully integrated bridge-to-propeller-solution for our customers,” Schell added.
The new subsidary’s open automation systems will be fully integrated into MTU’s product range.
Servowatch employs approximately 35 people at its headquarters in Heybridge, with additional 11 people in India. Servowatch automation systems monitor and control the operation of numerous large ships, for example large yachts and government vessels - not only the propulsion system, but also numerous other functions such as heating and ventilation and power supply.
“Servowatch is completely complementary to what we do in marine automation. Our new family member is focused on ships generally powered by high speed diesel engines and an integrated system based around their world class Winmon9 software. The integration with MTU products will help us add more lifecycle services through on-board data collection and edge analytics to inform the ship’s crew about vessel performance,” said Kevin Daffey Director Marine Systems & Automation at Rolls-Royces’ Power Systems business unit.
Wayne Ross, Managing Director Servowatch Systems said: “The team at Servowatch are very pleased and proud to be joining Rolls-Royce Power Systems and see very positively the synergy of products, also the focus on innovation and customer service, that is the recognised hallmark of Rolls-Royce globally. We look forward to contributing our efforts and products to the group, also to our further development as a business unit, under Rolls-Royce ownership.”
The commercial terms of the deal are not being disclosed.
Rolls-Royce pioneers cutting-edge technologies that deliver clean, safe and competitive solutions to meet our planet’s vital power needs.
Rolls-Royce Power Systems is headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany and employs around 10,000 people. The product portfolio includes MTU-brand high-speed engines and propulsion systems for ships, power generation, heavy land, rail and defence vehicles and for the oil and gas industry as well as diesel and gas systems and battery containers for mission critical, standby and continuous power, combined generation of heat and power, and microgrids. Medium-speed engines from Bergen power ships and power generation applications.
Rolls-Royce has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces, 70 navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers.
Annual underlying revenue was £15.45 billion in 2019, around half of which came from the provision of aftermarket services. In 2019, Rolls-Royce invested £1.46 billion on Research and Development. It also supports a global network of 29 University Technology Centres.
