Marine
Propulsion
Systems
Edition 2. 2015
www.zf.com/marine
Foreword
4 News from the Regions
10Facts and Figures
6 Cover Story
10News from the Global ZF Group
MasterCraft Boat Company
Perspectives
and meet the changing needs of our OEM customers. In
addition to our strong technology position, our highly
ZF Group completes acquisition of TRW
motivated worldwide sales and service organization
is partnering with the OEMs to not only support their
9 Sidebar Story
Ilmor Engines
customers today, but to find solutions for “boating 2.0”.
11Parts & Service
ZF Marine Aftersales & Servicepoints
The commercial side of the business continues at a
strong pace. ZF continues its investment in addressing
the needs of working vessel owners. ZF established
9 News from ZF Marine Group
its ToughGear brand in 2014 to reinforce our custo-
Fall Show Calendar 2015
mers understanding of the strength and durability of
our workboat transmissions. In addition we’ve introduced the 9000 and 10000 series product families to
better meet the needs of the market. This has proven
successful with new business in Asia Pacific and the
Middle East. Even with the price of oil at its low level,
100 years of business is a milestone for any organiza-
we are steadfast in our commitment to support our
tion, and I’m very proud to say that ZF has reached this
customers and expand our footprint in this segment.
significant anniversary. In 1915 Count Ferdinand von
Wakesurfer behind a MasterCraft boat
Zeppelin started the company Zahnradfabrik Fried-
We continue to similarly strengthen our portfolios
richshafen to build gearboxes for his airships. One of
in Thrusters, Controls and Fixed Pitch Propellers. The
the earliest offshoots of that initial product was marine
thruster market in the inland waterway region of North
transmissions. This year, the global ZF Group, with its
America continues to grow, and as an early entrant
acquisition of TRW, is now one of the largest automotive
into that market we are seeing that our aftersales sup-
suppliers in the world. There’s a great adage that says
port has helped to continue to grow our share of that
“Never forget where you came from”. ZF hasn’t, because
market. We’re committed to the Inland Waterway and
were still as committed to the advancement of marine
have made significant investments in the positioning of
and aviation technology as we were 100 years ago.
parts and spare units to be ready at a moment’s notice
to support our customers. We’re once again coming
Impress
report Marine Propulsion Systems
A customer magazine for business partners of
the ZF Marine Group
Published by
ZF Friedrichshafen AG – Business Unit Marine Propulsion Systems
Ehlersstr. 50
88046 Friedrichshafen, GERMANY
Phone +49 (0)7541 77 7375
Fax +49 (0)7541 90 7375
www.zf.com/marine
The acquisition of TRW provides an even larger base for
into the busy part of our trade show year. ZF Marine
technology share within the automotive and non-auto-
will be on display over the next few months at signifi-
motive business units of ZF. Technology that today maximizes
cant marine tradeshows around the world, you will see
efficiency and safety in road vehicles will bring similar
our fall trade show calendar in the pages of this issue.
benefits to marine propulsion technology in the not too
distant future. ZF Marine is in an enviable position to have
Advancing technology, supporting products in the market,
access to such a technology base, something that few if
and investing in the future – these were the drivers that
any of our competitors can claim. But what about today?
the ZF logo was first established over 100 years ago.
They are still the cornerstone as we look to the next 100.
The recreational market continues to change and evol-
Editor in Chief
Sabrina Münch
Marketing & Communication
ve with the next generation of boat buyers demanding
Editorial Responsibility
Martin Meissner
Marketing & Communication
use their boats, and the time that they allocate to boating
Cover picture
MasterCraft boats are a world leader
in the watersports industry
lumes with some of our OEM customers, and the resul-
Thank you for your time.
more advanced and connected technology in the boats
they consider. How the “Y” and Millennial generation
is certainly changing the traditional boating model. This
certainly has had a negative impact in production voting competition within the suppliers industry is challenging to say the least. ZF Marine continues to look
at how we can utilize the vast technology base of the
ZF Group to address this change in consumer behavior,
Daniel Härter
VP, Industrial Technology
Business Unit Marine Propulsion Systems
News from the Regions
News from the Regions
EUROPE
Crewboat reorder for Cantieri Vittoria –
In May the Cantieri Vittoria shipyard delivered
another “member” to Bambini s.r.l’s Crew /
Supply vessel family. All three vessels are
equipped with Cummins KTA 50 engines
with ZF Transmissions. The Blue Brother,
equipped with 4x ZF 5050A transmissions,
joined sisterships Blue Mommy and Blue Daddy
which were launched in 2013 and are each equipped with
4 x ZF 4650A transmissions.
SeaWork Lifetime achievement award for ZF’s Peter Nelmes –
The winner of Seawork’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015
was Peter Nelmes, Marine Business Manager at ZF Services UK.
Peter started his career at ZF Services UK as a Sales Engineer in
March of 1995. Nelmes moved his way up the company becoming
Product Group Manager – Marine, Sales Manager, Account Manager
and finally Marine Business Manager. Having recently reached
his 20th anniversary with the company this year, and being as
deeply embedded as Peter is in the UK’s marine industry,
ZF Services will sorely miss Peter when he retires at the
end of this year.
North America
Ilmor produces 10,000th marine engine – ZF Marine’s customer Ilmor engine company has a
long and storied history in high performance gasoline engines. In recent years the company has
brought its expertise to the performance boats. This August Ilmor hit an impressive milestone
producing their 10,000th engine for the marine market.
ASIA PACIFIC
Service commitment to the Inland Waterway – ZF Marine is making a big commitment to its customers operating ZF thrusters on the Inland Waterway. The com-
ZF Transmissions In Superyacht Record Breakers – ZF Marine transmissions will be a part of a record breaking superyacht
pany has started positioning key spare parts and replacement thruster units
model, as work by Australian company Echo Yachts is on schedule with its new 84 metre Trimaran Superyacht. Due in 2017,
geographically close to the fleet. The goal: keeping vessels operating,
the vessel will be biggest superyacht ever built in Australia, as well as the largest tri-hulled superyacht ever built worldwide.
and minimizing critical downtime.
The vessel will be equipped with a pair of ZF 7661 NC transmissions, which in light duty operation can work with inputs of up
3,771hp at 2,300RPM. Being built in conjunction is a 46 metre long shadow vessel, which will be used to support the
Trimaran, with storage for a total of 11 watercraft, including a 12 metre catamaran. Fitted with twin ZF 7640 transmissions,
SOUTH America
this vessel will also feature ZF Premium ClearCommand controls.
ZF Marine Gearboxes supplied for Brazilian Dive Supply Vessels – ZF recently sold 8 gearboxes, 6 x ZF 665
and 2 x ZF W220 – part of the main propulsion package of some DSVs built at Seasafe shipyard located in Angra dos Reis - RJ. “We have already installed ZF gearboxes in other types of vessels and we were quite happy
with the performance of that equipment as well as the after sales support”, says Daniel Cepollina, General Manager from Seasafe.These types of vessels require equipment with high reliability because they operate under
continuous duty in offshore dive activities with high complexity. ROVs are launched off the vessels and descend
to a depth of 2000 meters to perform inspection, maintenance and repair at the oil platforms.
4
report Marine Propulsion Systems 2.2015
Visiting Ship Builders and Prospective Customers in East Malaysia – Over 4 days at the end of June a team of ZF Marine
staff visited 18 shipyards in Sibu and Miri two established shipbuilding locations for local and export markets. The purpose of
the visits was to introduce the family of ZF’s marine products and aftermarket support activities to those companies building
Tug boats, crew boats, self-propelled barges, and landing craft. Besides shipyards, the team also spoke to designers to understand better the key considerations at the design stage of the ship building activities in East Malaysia. One of the designers
shared that he was familiar with ZF gearboxes for the fast craft series and had incorporated many transmissions into his designs
for pilot boats. He expressed that he had no doubt about the quality of ZF gearboxes.
5
Cover Story
Cover Story
In the late 1960s, water skiing was starting to come into
sport -- began to grow in popularity as older boaters, who
its own as a competitive water sport. A Florida-based
started out water skiing and watched as their kids took on
water skiing instructor named Rob Shirley had fostered
wake boarding, recognized the low-impact fun that could
a relationship with Leo Bentz, who had developed the
be had by simply riding a massive boat wake. And for the
world’s first ski-dedicated sport boat design. Shirley
past several years now, that has been the primary sport
was running one of Bentz’s early models when, in 1968,
we design our boats for.”
its engine blew. Since the boat needed extensive work
anyway, Shirley decided he’d use the opportunity to
The obvious first step in designing new wake-focused bo-
make some more radical changes to the boat, including
ats was to move from a direct-drive, mid-engine configu-
shortening the stern and widening its hull. Then resulting
ration to a rear-mounted engine. “Our powertrains today
boat, the world’s first MasterCraft, was an immediate
have to contend with thousands of extra pounds of weight
hit among water skiing
enthusiasts: 12 boats, built
in a Tennessee barn, were
completed the first year
the company was in business. The design was
“ZF Marine is known primarily
for the reliability and durability
of its transmissions.”
being pulled at much lower
speeds,” Povlin says. “We
have the big mass of the
boat, thousands of pounds
of water ballast as well as
riders. Our premium X23
immediately noted for its ability to aggressively come
wake surf boat, fully loaded and fueled, can weigh as
out of the hole and quickly get a skier up on the step.
much as 13,000 pounds. Needless to say, that takes a he-
At optimal skiing speeds of around 33 mph, the boat left
avy toll on its engine and transmission!”
a flat, easy-to-ride wake that allowed for fast cuts with
minimal water turbulence.
One of the secrets to maintaining high performance
in such demanding conditions has been MasterCraft’s
MasterCraft boats –
at the top of the
performance pyramid
“We recently tracked down that first MasterCraft and
long-standing partnership with ZF Marine, the exclusive
were able to purchase it,” says Jay Povlin, Vice Presi-
supplier of MasterCraft boat transmissions. “ZF Marine
dent of Global Sales and Marketing for MasterCraft.
is known primarily for the reliability and durability of its
“The boat has been restored. And even today, the low-
transmissions,” Povlin says. “We only build about 2,500
end torque it generates when it comes out of the hole is
boats a year. That translates into an incredibly demanding
spectacular to experience.”
customer base. So making sure we’re partners with companies that produce high-quality, highly robust compo-
MasterCraft designs advanced steadily over the next couple
nents is absolutely vital for our reputation and continued
of decades, refining its hull configurations and powertrain
success.”
offering – always with an eye on optimal water skiing
performance. But in the early 1990s, a new water sport
appeared: wake boarding. And for the first time in its
history, MasterCraft was challenged with reevaluating
everything it knew about high-performance boat design.
“Really, MasterCraft has always been a premium boat
with comfort upmost in mind. But, in many ways, we’ve
always been obsessed with the wake,” Povlin says. “In our
A MasterCraft boat always stands apart. That of cour-
Their boats aren’t “lake tourers.” All MasterCraft de-
early days, it was all about high speed with a flat wake.
se is no accident: From the beginning, MasterCraft
signs are performance-oriented from first drafts all
But wake boarding changed all that.”
designers have blended cutting-edge performance, mo-
the way through their development cycle and eventual
dern styling, comfort, reliability and quality in trend-set-
showcase in a marina showroom. MasterCraft custo-
Wakeboard boats require tremendous low-end power to
ting designs relying on the latest proven technologies.
mers expect no less. And the culture at MasterCraft will
not only quickly get a boarder on the step, but tow the
But MasterCraft has, first and foremost, always been
accept nothing less.
athlete at slower speeds – typically around 20 to 24 mph –
about delivering the ultimate platform for high-perfor-
while propelling a much heavier boat through the water.
mance water sports. This means that for MasterCraft
Given that extreme attention to performance, it’s not
“In 1998, 7 out of 10 MasterCrafts sold were dedicated ski
engineers, uncompromising, superior powertrain per-
surprising to learn that MasterCraft was founded by
boats,” Povlin notes. “Today, 9 out of 10 of our builds are
formance is an unwavering design requirement. The
water sports enthusiasts who felt they could build a bet-
wake-board and wake-surf designs. About six years ago,
company does not build conventional pleasure boats.
ter boat than the ones on the market at the time.
wake surfing – which started as kind of an underground
6
report Marine Propulsion Systems 2.2015
MasterCraft's boat designs have changed
to suit a larger wakesurfing audience
7
Cover Story
Cover Story
A passion for power:
High-performance marine power
demands high-performance
marine partners
brand known for quality. So it was an easy partnership from Day One. And as
MasterCraft’s management team has evolved over time, we have found ourselves even more in alignment with their engineers and their design efforts.”
Ray says the unique demands placed on a pleasure boat while towing
a wake surfer require proven powertrain partners to deliver optimal
performance. “We clearly want to optimize performance and torque
at low-end speeds to tow a surfer behind a massive wake,” Ray says.
“But that same powertrain has be able to deliver a medium wake for
other water sports and high-end power to deliver maximum speed
when needed.”
With its reputation hinging on performance, it’s no surprise that MasterCraft
looks for excellence in its powertrain partners. And with over 30 years
of experience on some of the world’s most competitive race circuits,
it’s a role Ilmor Engineering fits to a “T”.
Those uncompromising demands, Ray says, are the reason Ilmor has
partnered with ZF Marine since the very first day it started building
powertrains for MasterCraft. “ZF Marine is like Ilmor and MasterCraft,”
he explains. “It’s a high-end brand that is totally engineering oriented. We have a tremendous relationship with ZF engineers both in
Germany and Padua. We work closely with them through all stages
of our marine powertrain design and press to continuously upgrade
and enhance those designs. And should there be a problem, there’s
never any finger-pointing or blame-passing with ZF. We dive right in
together to solve those problems and make sure the high performance
MasterCraft owners expect is waiting for them each and every
Ilmor was founded in 1984 by partners Mario Illien and Paul Morgan.
The two men entered into an agreement with racing legend Roger
Penske to supply IndyCar engines to both the Sauber and McLaren
racing teams. “For the first 20 years of our business, all we did was
build high-performance racing engines,” says Ilmor president Paul
Ray. “This gave us invaluable experience working with various leading
OEMs including Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and we are now
back working as technology partners with Chevrolet again today.”
In 2003, after seeing the need to diversify its business, Ilmor made the
decision to move into in the marine powertrain market. “Marine was
something myself and others at Ilmor had a passion for, because we’d
competing on offshore racing teams in previous lives,” Ray recalls. “As
we started working with pleasure boat builders, we quickly realized
there were great opportunities for us in the Marine space. Unlike in
the automotive world, boat builder almost never build their own engines. So there were good opportunities for us to partner up with leading suppliers and supply them with high-performance powertrains."
time they push their throttles forward.”
Fortuitously for Ilmor, Penske had acquired celebrated boat builder
MasterCraft. In short order, Ilmor was supplying Chevrolet-based
engines to MasterCraft and working closely to design optimized
powertrains as the sport boat industry shifted away from water skiing
to wake surfing.
“We consider Ilmor a premium powertrain brand and that philosophy is reflected in anything we do,” Ray notes. “MasterCraft is also an aspirational
Wakeboarder towed by MasterCraft boat with ZF transmission
Povlin says that ZF’s ability to work with MasterCraft
“Really, for MasterCraft, a lot of our success depends on
and help them create new, optimized powertrains has
how well we tie all our powertrain components together
been crucial as the boat builder contends with rapidly
to deliver the specific performance our customers
changing design requirements and water sports markets.
expect,” Povlin adds. “It’s helpful when you have a
“The great thing about ZF is that no matter how dra-
partner equally committed to those goals – and that’s
matically our requirements change, they’re flexible
what ZF does for us. We rarely have issues with ZF
enough to deliver innovative new products. And yet
components, but when we do, they are simply fantastic
they also work fast, which gives us more time to tweak
to work with and very responsive, both here in the
our performance by matching the powertrain with the
States and in Italy.”
News from the ZF Marine Group
FALL show Calendar 2015
Inteval
Place
Country
Start
End
annual
Monaco
Monaco
23.09.2015
26.09.2015
SMM India / INMEX India
biennal
Mumbai
India
23.09.2015
25.09.2015
EUROPORT Rotterdam
biennal
Rotterdam
Netherlands
03.11.2015
06.11.2015
Fort Lauderdale Boat Show
annual
Fort Lauderdale
USA
05.11.2015
09.11.2015
METS
annual
Amsterdam
Netherlands
17.11.2015
19.11.2015
greatly increased torque out of the hole and allowed
Pacific Marine Expo
annual
Seattle
USA
24.11.2015
26.11.2015
for effortless low-speed cruising.
Marinetec China
biennal
Shanghai
China
01.12.2015
04.12.2015
annual
New Orleans
USA
01.12.2015
03.12.2015
best possible propellers and other adjustments.”
A prime example, Povlin says, is when wake surf requirements compounded the need for low-end power,
ZF Marine was able to deliver a gear ratio of 2:1 that
Monaco Yacht Show
Workboat New Orleans
8
report Marine Propulsion Systems 2.2015
9
Facts and Figures
Parts & Service
ZF Marine After Sales
& Service Points
… is the usual age of retirement from
‘active service’ when it comes to
containers and reefers.
A large containership engine weighs up
to 2,300 tons and has about 1,000 times
more power than a family car.
One-Third of all ship crews worldwide
are people from the Philippines, with nearly
a quarter million at sea.
organize technical support. We want to attract companies
who are currently selling boats and boating equipment
or offer services like maintenance, repairs, slipping, or
+10,4%
boat storage and are interested to intensify their activities
in the propulsion segment.will back-up our new partners
$100 bn
Registrations
In North America, New Inboard registrations
heavily increased by +10.4% in Q4 2014 in yearly
comparison.
Positive trend for the Superyacht segment - North
America will remain the wealthiest individual
country and Asia Pacifc is projected to hold 34
percent of global wealth in 2019.
Despite the recession, investors have been
committing over $100 billion a year to new
commercial vessels.
until they are qualified to take on the business.
Marine
Aftersales
& Service
Point
Guided by the nearest local or regional competence center of ZF Marine the ASPs receive a basic training on our
products and have access to original ZF Marine parts, kits
and consumables. Once they are qualified, they will be
authorized to display the ZF Marine ASP Logo and can
support ZF Marine with part sales, maintenance and basic
technical support for the users of ZF technology in boats.
In case a service job exceeds the ASPs capabilities, he will
involve the nearest ZF Marine competence center.
With this new approach we enhance our presence in the
market and raise the awareness of the boat owners and
Particularly week segment is Offshore Oil&Gas:
High oil prices have slumped since mid 2014,
and are currently standing at around $56/bbl.
The global commercial vessel orderbook continued to grow for the second year on a row.
For the After Sales Business, being close to the customer
of authorized service and maintenance. Depending on
is a key factor for success. Especially in the Pleasure
the potential business, ASPs can be qualified to take over
Craft segment, where boats move frequently from one
more and more activities for ZF Marine. Some may even
marina to another, it is sometimes hard to ensure this.
reach the level of a “Local Competence Center”.
Large marinas with up to 2000 moorings as well as nu-
News from the ZF Group
ZF Group completes acquisition of TRW
At the beginning of May
“The combined company is a powerhouse of automotive
the ZF Group completed
technologies, ranging from driver assistance and occupant
the last steps in the
safety systems, to drivelines and transmissions, and braking
acquisition of TRW the
and steering systems,” said John C. Plant, President and
Livonia, MI based auto-
CEO of TRW. “This unique combination of advanced tech-
motive supplier. TRW will be incorporated into ZF as a
nologies comprehensively addresses the growing, industry-
new division called Active & Passive Safety Technology.
wide trends of safety, fuel efficiency and autonomous driving.”
The combined company now operates under the name ZF
Friedrichshafen AG.
“With pro forma sales exceeding €30 billion and more than
130,000 employees, the combined company is a top three
“Today marks the day we combine the strengths of ZF and
global automotive supplier,” continued Sommer. “Together
TRW into a worldwide leading systems supplier in the
with TRW, ZF will be even better positioned to benefit from
automotive sector,” said Stefan Sommer, ZF’s Chief Executive
major trends in the industry by building on the strengths of
Officer. “We are all very excited about our plans for the
both companies, remaining focused on current and future
future, with the combination allowing us to capitalize on
business.”
strategic opportunities and create near- and long-term sustainable value for our customers and employees.”
10
skippers about ZF Marine products and the importance
report Marine Propulsion Systems 2.2015
merous smaller ones along the coastline are the places
Currently the ZF Marine locations like ZF Services UK,
we want to give our special attention to.
our Partner KGK in Norway and our Regional Competence Centers in Istanbul, Turkey and Cape Town have star-
That is why we created the “ZF Marine After Sales & Service
ted to implement the concept. Other locations will adapt
Point” (ASP) program, to team up with local marine parts and
the concept to their situation in due course. Each location
service providers. An ideal ASP should be easily visible
has experienced the benefit out of the initiative right away.
for the customer and locally well known. He has to be
Just by visiting the service points and introducing them-
our right hand in the market to keep in touch with our
selves as the contact to ZF Marine, they have been able to
customers. On the other hand he has to know exactly
collect important information that helps us to improve our
who to contact in ZF Marine for spare parts and to
products and the way we service our customers.
Products, Service,
Information –
ZF Marine Propulsion
Systems at your
fingertips
ZF MarInteractive – the app for smartphone
and tablet users from ZF Marine Propulsion
Systems. Whether you’re looking for new
marine products from ZF for Pleasure Craft,
Fast Craft, or Commercial Craft, finding
your closest authorized ZF service and parts
center, or downloading the latest product
information – the ZF MarInteractive app
offers all of this at your fingertips. If you’re
in the marine industry, and need specifications for ZF products on a regular basis,
or just want the peace of mind from
having ZF’s service network a touch
away during your next voyage,
it’s all at ZF MarInteractive.
Technical Support Line
Only one click away you can reach
our technical support via phone or
email, no matter where you are, we are
there for you.
Product Information –
always up-to-date
With the Interactive Product Finder
you always have the latest product
information on the current transmission
range at your fingertips – offshore and
ashore. Learn and stay informed about
the entire product range of ZF Marine
Propulsion Systems.
About ZF Marine
ZF MarInteractive
Download the App now!
Comfortable access to your ZF Marine
contact and an extensive download
and information area assures you all
documentation and information you
need – 24/7.
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