Rome- Paolo Tonon, MSc (Eng), (42) has been appointed Vice President, R&D of Wärtsilä Industrial Operations as of 1 June 2012. Mr Tonon will be responsible for the Research and Development of Wärtsilä products.

Mr Tonon, who joined Wärtsilä in 1998, has successfully held several leading strategic, operational and technology positions. Prior to this current appointment he has, since 2009, been Vice President, Product Centre Automation, based in Norway, with responsibility for overall development and production of the Wärtsilä electrical & automation portfolio.  

Tonon is a member of the Wärtsilä Industrial Operations management team and reports to Lars Hellberg, Group Vice President, Wärtsilä Industrial Operations.

Wärtsilä is a global leader in complete lifecycle power solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising technological innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2011, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.2 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in nearly 170 locations in 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on the NASDAQ OMX in Helsinki, Finland.

Wärtsilä in Italy is part of Wärtsilä Corporation, a Finnish engineering company.

Wärtsilä in Italy focuses on the marine and energy markets with products and solutions as well as services for the shipping and power generation markets.

It develops, sells, manufactures and provides service solutions for a wide range of medium speed diesel engines: Wärtsilä 26, Wärtsilä 38, Wärtsilä 46, Wärtsilä 46F, Wärtsilä 50DF, Wärtsilä 50SG and Wärtsilä 64, with a range of power from 1,9 MW to 23 MW. At the end of 2010 has started the LMT Thruster assembly.

The premises in Trieste extend over an area of 550,000 square meters, of which 155.000 are covered. The company employs more than 1500 professionals in Trieste (Head Office), Milan, Genoa, Naples, and Taranto.