Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) held the production ceremony of the 5,000th propeller at its Ulsan factory, the company said in its press release.
The 5,000th propeller measuring 10.6 meters in diameter and 77 tons in weight is scheduled to be installed on a 300,000 DWT VLCC ordered from Athens-based Thenamaris by the end of this month.
HHI is not just the only Korean propeller manufacturer capable of churning out large-sized ship propellers heavier than 40 tons, it also has the biggest pie in the global ship propeller market with the market share of 31% as of 2015.
Since the production of its first propeller in 1985, HHI has achieved major production milestones with 100th propeller in 1987, 1,000th in 1999 and 2,000th in 2005. Since 2000, HHI has been producing 200 plus propellers annually. HHI also won Guinness World Record for the heaviest propeller in 2001 with a 102 ton propeller, then the heaviest one.
Moreover, HHI applied furan resin process to large propeller casting for the first time in the world in 2003. The process named ‘Furan method’ is a foundry technology used as a binding agent for casting enabling it to make propellers cheaper and faster.
An HHI official said, “With the goal of developing 25% lighter propellers by 2018, we are currently developing new type of propellers made of composite material. We will continue to make efforts to keep our standing in the global market with tireless technology development and quality improvement.”