Marine and industrial Sulzer medium speed engines of Z40 series

Zaklady Urzadzen Technicznych (ZUT) "Zgoda" in Swietochlowice, Poland, have obtained licence for production of various 4-stroke, medium speed engines of Z40/48, ZA40 and ZA40S series from Sulzer Brothers Ltd., later New Sulzer Diesel and then Wartsila.
Old, but constantly modernized well proven design, reliability and ease of maintenance has made them very popular in many applications.

Zgoda - Sulzer - it is worldwide recognized brand.

Most of the engines work as main propulsion on medium-size ships, some as originally designed for stationary power generation, some as reserve power source for nuclear power plants. Last time, especially in India, marine engines recovered from scrapped ships and rebuilt are used for local electric power generation.

Around 70% of Sulzer 4-stroke engines of Z40 series ever built worldwide, were built in Zgoda, Poland.

• Z40/48 series: cylinder diameter 400mm, stroke 480mm, speed 400-600 RPM
  Production of new ones is almost stopped, however, in case of order... Customer willing to pay is always right.
  The engines were built in many variants for first MDO, later added HFO in marine and stationary versions, in L and V cylinder arrangement, reversible and non-reversible.
  There have been plans to develop gas fueled engines, but, except one individual adaptation of engine 12ZV40/48 for dual fuel in Kufstein, Austria, it has never got out from ideas only.

  Engines built in Poland:
  6ZL40/48, 8ZL40/48
  12ZV40/48, 16ZV40/48

  Another licence holders in France, Yugoslavia, Finland, Italy and many other countries have built engines also in another cylinders layout - for example: 7, 14, 18 cylinders.

   

• Engines ZA40 series: cylinder diameter 400mm, speed 500-600 RPM, fuel: HFO
  Power output: 660kW/cyl
  ZA40 engines were not very successful: only several ones have been built, including 3 ones by Zgoda in Poland. Intended as modernized compared to Z40/48 engines, they provided valuable experience used for next, much more popular series: ZA40S.

   

• Engines ZA40S series: cylinder diameter 400mm, stroke: 560mm, speed 500-600 RPM, fuel: HFO
  Power output: 660 and 720 kW/cyl
  This series has reduced fuel consumption and increased power output, compared to previous versions.
  Produced in many variants for marine and stationary applications.

  Types built in Poland:
  6ZA40S, 8ZA40S
  12ZAV40S, 16ZAV40S.

  Another Sulzer licence holders have also put engines ZA40S into production program.
  It was good and reliable design. There has been developed already next generation, bigger version: ZA50S, several ones were built.

However, not everything, which is good can survive in our real corporate world...
First, shares of New Sulzer Diesel (NSD) were bought by Fincantieri in Italy, later, shares of Fincantieri were bought by Wartsila from Finland, which had developed own line of medium speed engines. New company Wartsila-NSD was formed and it has turned out, the Sulzer Z engines are in direct competition with Wartsila's Vasa. So, the new company stopped "the active marketing" of Sulzer Z engines.

Factories belonging to NSD were either closed (e.g. France), or have stopped production of Z engines. Independent licence holders, as Zgoda in Poland keep the production up at own risk, basing on existing documentation and updated licence agreements.