thumb|A Volvo Penta TAMD120 diesel engine, built 1970-1983

thumb|Volvo Penta 6-cylinder diesel engine sound.

thumb|Volvo Penta 6-cylinder diesel engine.

Volvo Penta is a Swedish marine and industrial engine manufacturer, a joint stock company within the Volvo Group. Volvo Penta evolved from a foundry in Skövde 1907, when the first marine engine, the B1, was manufactured. The name Penta was created about 1916. The Penta company soon became an established internal combustion engine manufacturer, which in 1927 delivered the engine for Volvo's first passenger car.

Volvo acquired Penta in 1935 and Volvo Penta has been part of the Volvo Group since then. In 1973, the production of outboard motors was acquired. In this process, the Archimedes brand was purchased from the company Electrolux, which had also acquired it in 1941. Archimedes itself was a Swedish company that was a pioneer in the manufacture of outboard motors. It now provides internal combustion engines (ICEs) and complete power systems to the marine industry, power-generating equipment, and similar industrial applications. The business also manufacturers sterndrive and inboard drive systems such as the Volvo Penta IPS. The engine program comprises petroleum fuel (diesel and gasoline) engines with power outputs of between .

History

In 1868, engineer Johan George Grönvall, also known as John G. Grönvall, founded a mechanical workshop and foundry in Skövde, Sweden. The company became limited in 1875, known as Sköfde Gjuteri och Mekaniska Verkstad or simply Gjuteriet. Products ranged from pots and vents to stoves and brewery equipment. Soon Gjuteriet also started manufacturing agricultural equipment and equipment for sawmills.

The company expanded heavily in the early 1900s, and started producing steam engines and water turbines for hydraulic power plants. In 1907, a very fruitful co-operation with the Stockholm-based engineering company Fritz Egnell began, with a one-cylinder 3 hp compression ignition engine. The engine was simply named B1 - but a five-man committee was set to find a name that would catch on. The committee failed to agree on a catchy name, but because it had five members, settled for Penta.

In 1916, Egnell bought the company and the name changed to AB Pentaverken. including Tiara Yachts, Fairline Boats, Sunseeker, Riviera, Four Winns, Sea Ray, Hanse, Bavaria and Cranchi. In conjunction with Volvo owned CPAC Systems , Volvo Penta and Yamaha Motor signed an agreement involving technological partnership in December 2010. Volvo Penta have a strong presence in the Marine Commercial segment; many passenger ferries, workboats, Military vessels, dive support vessels and fishing vessels utilise Volvo Penta engines for propulsion, power generation or auxiliary equipment such as bow thrusters. Most recently, Volvo Penta has been the number one choice of propulsion and power generation for offshore wind farm vessels, a.k.a. Crew transfer vessel (CTV). Operators can appreciate the reliability and performance from Volvo Penta engines and IPS propulsion systems. With ever-demanding focus on reducing emissions, Volvo Penta have released to market a hybrid solution for utilising electric motors mated to IPS drives.

Industrial engines

The company sells its engines to a variety of users, including many generator manufacturers, such as Aggreko Sdmo, Genpower, Kohler and Shanghai Dingxin Electric Group. Its engines are also used in mining equipment and stone-crushing machinery.

Manufacturing bases

The company has a number of manufacturing bases for diesel engines at Vara, Sweden; Lingang, China; and Lexington, Tennessee, United States, for all gasoline engines and sterndrives. Volvo Penta operates worldwide and has around 4,000 dealers in 130 countries.

References

  • Official Volvo Penta website
  • Volvo Penta brochure 100-Years Anniversary 2007 (PDF, 2,4 MB; marine.volvopentasalesacademy.com)