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Mahle | New Appointments to the Management Board
The Mahle Supervisory Board has made two new appointments to the Management Board of the Group. Arnd Franz is CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of the Mahle Group since November 1, 2022. He took over from Michael Frick, who was responsible for Finance (CFO) and interim Chairman of the Management Board of the Mahle Group until then. Franz has been CEO of LKQ Europe in Zug (Switzerland) since 2019 and is now returning to Mahle, where he had previously worked for 18 years. Frick's successor as CFO, also from November 01, is Markus Kapaun, who has worked for the group for almost 20 years, most recently as Vice President Finance & Accounting Europe. Frick has left the group at his own request and will move to ZF as the new CFO.
Svolt | New Factory for Battery Cells in Germany
The chinese battery manufacturer Svolt intends to build a battery cell factory in Lauchhammer, located in northeastern Germany. After the site in Saarland, this will be the second production site for battery cells in Germany. According to the company, it had deliberately chosen Brandenburg as a location because many companies along the supply chain and the battery life cycle have settled there in recent years. The battery manufacturer has taken over a former plant, including the site, from Vestas in Lauchhammer (Oberspreewald-Lausitz district). The wind turbine manufacturer had only recently ceased production of rotor blades there. The battery cells produced in Lauchhammer will be further processed at the future Svolt site in Heusweiler/ Saarland and prepared for use in electric vehicles.
ZKW | Nix Appointed General Plant Manager
Andreas Nix has been the General Plant Manager of ZKW Lichtsysteme since September 2022. He succeeds Stefan Hauptmann, who will assume the global position of ZKW Group Vice President Program Management. Nix most recently managed the ZKW site in Dalian (China) as General Plant Manager. He has over 25 years of expertise in the automotive industry and has also worked in sales, production, quality, and development. The manager studied electronics at the University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt (Germany), after which he gained professional experience at companies in Europe and China.
AB Dynamics | Acquisition of Ansible Motion
AB Dynamics has acquired Ansible Motion, a provider of driving simulators, for a total sum of 31.2 million British pounds (35.9 million euros). This acquisition will be used for the newly formed AB Simulation division and simulation software in the rFpro sector. Ansible Motion's product range includes the Delta series dynamic simulator, the Sigma series static simulator, and the portable Theta series simulator. They are used for the development of a range of vehicle applications, including ADAS, autonomous driving, chassis, powertrain, human-machine interfaces, NVH, steering systems, and tires.
Horiba | Knott Is Managing Director of Fuel Con Division
Measuring systems manufacturer Horiba has appointed Jürgen Knott as the new Managing Director of its Fuel Con division. This appointment follows a restructuring to accommodate the growth rates in the hydrogen business. A total of three managing directors are being appointed in the sector of testing and diagnostic systems for fuel cells and batteries. Knott will be responsible for Operations. Ingo Benecke, Founder of the former Fuel Con, will focus on research and development as Managing Director. Another newcomer is Kazufumi Uie, who joined Fuel Con from Horiba Japan and will be responsible for sales and business development.
Impulses
Turning Point
The energy transition, the initiation of which was largely ideological and dogmatic, has now been confronted with harsh reality and has become a cause of concern for politics, industry, associations, and society alike. Very unpleasant external circumstances have exacerbated the situation. This clearly shows that only an available and affordable energy supply can ensure prosperity, social stability, and technological progress. Almost monopolistic, planned-economy approaches to solutions without holistic assessments and possibilities to change course, and without a clearly structured transition from one technology to another, represent an unacceptable risk. Solution scenarios are being created and rejected almost in a state of panic, while ideology still seems to dominate over technological and economic scientific knowledge.
What does that mean for the ongoing transition in mobility, which is so closely linked to the energy transition and which was initiated in a similar way? Affordable mobility is a basic need and it can only be achieved on the basis of a sustainable and secure supply of energy. It is therefore time to reassess the status and objectives of the mobility transition.
In spring 2023, ATZlive will provide an opportunity to comprehensively discuss the topics of energy provision, the expansion of infrastructure, and powertrain technologies at two unique conferences. At the end of February, the International Engine Congress (organized jointly with VDI) will take place for the tenth time in Baden-Baden and will focus on the production and provision of non-fossil fuels and the development of combustion engines. In March, the International MTZ Conference on Powertrains and Energy Systems of the Future will provide a meeting place in Berlin for a detailed exchange of ideas and information on the status quo and the future of electric drive systems and energy supplies. We look forward to your participation.
ZF | Freudenberg | Fuel Cell Drive Systems
ZF has agreed to form a partnership with the fuel cell and battery system supplier Freudenberg e-Power Systems. The companies aim to jointly develop highly integrated complete solutions for fuel cell-based electric drive systems for heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Freudenberg's contribution to the development of this powerpack will be its modular fuel cell and battery kits with application-specific power outputs. ZF will offer its complete electric drivetrain, including inverters, converters, compressors, and software for energy management systems, as well as its integration expertise. The pilot phase of the cooperation agreement is currently underway, with various bus and truck prototypes being developed. The first prototype is expected to be available by 2023.
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People + Companies. ATZ Heavy Duty worldw 15, 6–7 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41321-022-1010-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41321-022-1010-0
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