SCHOTTEL de Colombia is currently building a state-of-the-art workshop in Cartagena, a strategic location with access to the Caribbean Sea. It will be the only facility of its kind in Colombia operated by a marine propulsion manufacturer and will offer significant benefits to customers throughout Latin America. The total investment is 5 million euros.
Stefan Kaul, Managing Director of SCHOTTEL GmbH, emphasizes the importance of the construction project of the Colombian subsidiary: “With this strategic step, we want to get closer to our LATAM customers, expand our on-site services and exploit the potential of this market even more intensively. General Manager Julio Carrasquilla and his team at SCHOTTEL de Colombia have done an excellent job in recent years and paved the way for this expansion.”
Julio Carrasquilla, General Manager of SCHOTTEL de Colombia, adds: “With this workshop, we are closing a significant gap in the service offering for propulsion systems in LATAM and taking customer support to a new level.” The workshop, which will be located near major shipyards, will enable fast and efficient maintenance and repair services, which will significantly improve the uptime of customer fleets: “Our customers will benefit immensely from this broad-based after-sales service.”
From summer 2025, the Colombian subsidiary of SCHOTTEL GmbH will have a 1,000 square meter workshop with state-of-the-art technology and high crane lifting capacity on a 4,700 square meter site in Cartagena. A new office building will provide space for up to 37 employees.
Customers can expect a very broad range of services with maintenance work at OEM level. For this purpose, two bridge cranes with a load capacity of up to 60 tons and 3D scanning for the assessment of complex parts are available. The workshop offers space for the simultaneous processing of several ship drives, complemented by turning, milling and grinding machines and a vertical assembly capacity of up to 12 meters in hall height. An additional jib crane with a load capacity of 6.3 tons in a radius of 5.5 meters will further increase operational efficiency.
The technical facilities include a 100 square meter spare parts warehouse, an electrically adjustable gearbox stand, an automatic parts cleaning system, an ergonomically designed assembly pit for subcomponents, and oil separators. In addition, the new location will have an 800 square meter office area with a training room, all designed according to the latest standards of ergonomic and team-oriented working conditions.
The entire building and its internal logistics processes are designed according to the latest sustainability standards. These include reduced energy consumption, conservation of resources, reduction of pollutants, short transport routes, waste prevention and recycling. A photovoltaic system installed on the roof will generate 138 kW of energy annually and cover the entire energy needs of the building. The surplus 60 kW will be fed into the public grid, contributing to sustainability and offsetting SCHOTTEL de Colombia’s carbon footprint .
This investment underlines SCHOTTEL’s commitment to intensify service and market presence in Latin America and to ensure first-class support and customer proximity. The new workshop is scheduled to go into operation in July 2025.
About SCHOTTEL de Colombia
SCHOTTEL de Colombia, founded in 2015 in Cartagena, serves 18 Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. The company offers comprehensive support throughout the entire life cycle of propulsion units, including maintenance, repairs, inspections and remote assistance using augmented reality. Julio Carrasquilla has been the Managing Director since the company’s founding. A new workshop, scheduled to open in July 2025, will significantly expand maintenance and repair capabilities. The site will be the only specialised workshop for marine propulsion in Colombia.
