A newcomer with bags of potential

Anna Pfefferle and Sascha Stoll are working together to optimize the new MAN 175D high-speed engine and ensure that it always stays competitive. But first it has to establish itself on the market.

At the end of July, overall project lead Christian Eschey and his team released the MAN 175D from the project phase for series production, putting it in the safe hands of Anna Pfefferle and Sascha Stoll. As the product manager, Anna Pfefferle is the interface between Sales and Technology: “I am responsible for the engine’s commercial success throughout its life cycle. So it is my job to assess the wish list that I get from the markets and our customers through Sales, formulate concrete requirements from it and then agree them with Engineering.” Which markets do we have to serve? What technical features are still missing? When will a relaunch be needed? Anna Pfefferle has to respond to all these questions and adjust the product specification accordingly.

In the long term, we can see possibilities involving new fuels like ammonia, methanol and gas.

As Head of Product Line 1X/2X, Sascha Stoll is primarily focused on technical implementation: “We work out the appropriate solutions, evaluate the work involved and check whether we can provide the necessary capacity. Working together, Anna Pfefferle and I prioritize the requirements, as some adjustments take more time than others and not every proposal makes sense from a commercial point of view.” The principle challenge however is always to keep variant management firmly under control. On paper, the MAN 175D has numerous variants, but the essential differences are in the parameter setting, not in the hardware. “We have a very well-kept construction kit with lots of carry-over parts. In design terms, all the variants are essentially the same basic engine. The variability comes from the software or configuration. We really got an awful lot right in development,” says Sascha Stoll.

MAN 175D

Partner for the 28/33 D

The engine is optimized for the marine market and comes in 12V, 16V and 20V variants. This means that it meets the requirements of the navy, harbor tug, supply vessel, ferry, yacht and fishing vessel segments. January will see the launch of the MAN 175 ML+, which delivers another 400 kW of power compared with the existing V20 version. This makes it a good fit for the lucrative offshore patrol vessel market. According to Sascha Stoll, the MAN 175D has a strong partner in the 28/33D, the smallest four-stroke engine: “Both products complement each other very well in terms of power and so do not get in each other’s way.”   Colleagues in Marine Sales have only just landed an order for a luxury yacht where both engines will be used, with the 28/33 providing propulsion and the MAN 175D serving as a genset. In another order, the Finnish navy is relying exclusively on the MAN 175D for four of its new corvettes. So, according to Anna Pfefferle, the market potential is definitely there: “We are currently reckoning on 150 engines a year. But we have great expectations for the offshore market, which needs to pick up a bit first, however. In the long term, we can see possibilities involving new fuels like ammonia, methanol and gas. But that is still a long way off. The MAN 175D first has to establish itself in the diesel version.”