Turbodal

TURBOCHARGING CHILE'S MARITIME INDUSTRY

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TURBODAL

TURBOCHARGING CHILE’S MARITIME INDUSTRY

Chile's Turbodal has powered its way to become one of South America's leading and most reliable providers of turbochargers to the maritime sector. Director Sergio Parada discusses expanding business opportunities, innovations and the realities of bringing sustainability to bear in ever-evolving times with Andy Probert.

Turbodal is a key fixture in Chile’s maritime industry, providing a range of world-class turbochargers to the nation’s shipyards and vessel owners. Given that the South American country’s aquaculture industry is the third largest in the world, making up 12% of global production, the company considers itself well-positioned to capture a wide net of future opportunities.

Established in 1980, Turbodal was a pioneer of its time in becoming the first dedicated turbocharger workshop in Chile. Over the decades, it has continued to evolve and is now considered one of the nation’s acknowledged leaders in the sales and servicing of turbochargers.

Turbodal, which employs 90 people and has annual sales of $10 million, is part of a larger group of companies with a 400-strong workforce and a $70 million turnover.

The parent company also has interests in sales and servicing mining machinery, trucks, bulldozers and engines. This is primarily focused on Caterpillar Engines and Komatsu brands. The parent company also has a similar set-up in Argentina that works with Caterpillar Injectors and is involved in a partnership with Japan’s Marubeni.

Highly regarded

Turbodal is also highly regarded for its dedicated service provision, carrying out fault analysis and diagnosis, cartridge repairs, essential maintenance and cleaning.

“Today, Turbodal has ten branches across Chile. We are proud to be the dealers for the globe's main turbocharger brands and exclusive dealer in Chile to the Japanese engine maker Yanmar,” said Director Sergio Parada.

Turbodal works closely with both shipyards and operators whose vessels call into port. He said: “Chile has very good shipyards dedicated to small to medium vessels, in between 500 and 3,000 tonnes, and they mainly provide well boats and fish carriers to serve the burgeoning salmon farming industry.

“As a company, we are uniquely placed to serve both sectors due to our excellent support and vast knowledge, experience and support.”

Mr Parada spoke of Turbodal’s involvement with Yanmar as a “happy and virtuous conjunction” at a critical time for both companies. “We saw an important need for Yanmar marine engines in Chile, but the Japanese company previously lacked vital local support.

“The quality of their engines is quite extraordinary, but you still require sales and comprehensive servicing on the ground to maintain those engines for customers. That is where Turbodal comes into its own.”

Business growth of recent years for Turbodal has continued apace, increasing by an average of 7% per year despite the impact of the pandemic. It has sold around 20 engines, with a total of 20,000 KW output, in the last three years.

Mr Parada said that one highlight was Turbodal’s continued involvement in the expansion of the Patagon-named fish carrier fleet. In partnership with Yanmar, Turbodal supplied the main auxiliary engines for the Patagon 9, 10 and 11 vessels. These are 3,000ton vessels, owned by Patagonia Well Boat Company and built by Asenav Shipyard, to transport live fish as part of the nation’s salmon fishing industry.

He added: “We have also supplied engines into two new barges for different private companies and a vessel deploying buoys and signalling on behalf of the Chilean Navy. All these projects were completed in 2020 and 2021.”

Expansion plans

Mr Parada added: “2022 and 2023 are looking very promising for Turbodal as new projects come online. More well boats are coming through, and we are gearing up to meet those demands.”

As part of its business expansion, Turbodal plans to open a new service facility in Puerto Montt, a port city in Llanquihue Province, southern Chile, which is vital to the salmon fishing industry there.

“It has been 20 years since Turbodal last opened a new facility in Chile,” commented Mr Parada, “however, we appreciate the business potential that Puerto Montt presents.

We detect opportunities for servicing that are not presently provided there by others.

“We will succeed as we are well-known for our service provision nationally. Puerto Montt will become an important focal point for Turbodal’s service support to clients using Yanmar and other branded engines. We are on track to open the new workshop in 2023.”

Changing landscape

The main challenges to the company and its industry are the constant technology upgrades and the drive for lower emissions, according to Mr Parada: “These two challenge us, as we must be on top of both of them in order to provide proper customer support.

“We also invest a significant budget into R&D to overhaul and modify engines to ensure high performance, low emissions and minimal pollution. We adopt eco-friendly cleaning procedures using biological cleaners to care for industrial waste safely.”

The global turbocharger landscape has changed dramatically in the last 20 years, explained Mr Parada: “From very mechanical rotating pieces to the complex electronic controls and different phases of turbocharging today. But it is one of the most influential elements of an engine and key to lower emissions, so we have to evolve our education on both.

“Because of that, our teams are regarded as the leaders in Chile and South America and have won many awards from manufacturers because of their dedication and commitment.

“The most important aspect of our company is our orientation to customer service. This is backed by our experienced and skilled staff. We take pride in offering top-quality service, as the customer experience is of paramount importance. We are always honest and professional in our work, and these are the foundations for our longterm relations with our suppliers and clients.”

Mr Parada concluded: “The Chilean ship market remains very attractive because of the country’s long coastline, the shipyards building medium-sized vessels are very good and customers are always seeking good quality and service from engine manufacturers. These all present a wealth of opportunity for Turbodal to take advantage of in the future.”