MSC to take over Wärtsilä plant in Trieste

Cash-rich Gianluigi Aponte has come to the rescue of a factory plant in Trieste faced with closure. 

Finnish marine technology firm Wärtsilä announced 18 months ago it was scaling down its manufacturing in Trieste, a city where it has had a presence since 1997, buying into and then taking over the 1972-founded Grandi Motori Trieste (GMT). The 300,000 sq m plant (pictured) had been focusing on medium-speed marine engines 

Coming in to save the factory, Aponte, the owner of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), has announced plans to take it over and convert it to develop train carriages. 

In an interview with Il Secolo XIX, Aponte revealed that MSC had reached an agreement to acquire the Wärtsilä plant. 

MSC, the world’s largest containerline as well as being one of the largest names in cruise shipping, has been building a strong European rail network. 

In November it formed a new company with Italy’s state-run Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane to expand the freight transport logistics network between ports in Italy and the rest of Europe. 

Also last year, MSC struck a deal with New York-headquartered Global Infrastructure Partners to buy a 50% stake in Italian passenger rail operator Italo as well as being selected as the winning partner to help revive Spain’s national rail freight operator Renfe Mercanias.