Thruster propulsion specialist Steerprop has appointed Juhani Hupli as its new Director of Service. Hupli, who joined Steerprop in February, will lead the development and delivery of the company’s lifecycle solutions for its thrusters, which operators rely on to maximize reliability and availability while operating in the world’s most challenging marine environments. Hupli will be part of the management team of Steerprop.
Hupli brings over 25 years of experience in the maritime industry, having held several senior management roles at Wärtsilä. Most recently, he served as Vice President, Transformations and Strategy for the company’s marine digital technology division, where he played a key role in driving innovation across a wide range of service and digitalization initiatives.
Steerprop President and CEO Riku-Pekka Hägg said: “Juhani’s extensive leadership experience in marine digital solutions make him the ideal person to advance Steerprop’s service offering. From managing spare parts logistics and service agreements through to data-enabled optimization of thruster performance across the vessel lifecycle, digital tools are critical to our ability to deliver service that exceeds our customers’ expectations. Juhani will play a key role in taking that service to the next level.”
Steerprop Director of Service Juhani Hupli said: “Steerprop has built a reputation for making the world’s most reliable high-performance thrusters for the most demanding marine applications. Now, as the company aims to bring that quality to an even wider market, it is critical that the service offering also evolves to meet the needs of a larger and more diverse customer base. I am looking forward to taking on that challenge.”
Lifecycle solutions for Steerprop thrusters include data insights delivered through the Steerprop Care condition monitoring system. Included in every delivery, this allows crew to follow machinery trends through a dedicated app and detect in advance deviations that could affect the propulsion system. Steerprop can also monitor and report on thruster and propulsion data—including vibrations and lube oil condition—to further support reliable operations and help ensure safe and reliable operations throughout the lifecycle.
