Driving in front HOERBIGER Drive Technology

DRIVING IN FRONT

HOERBIGER Drive Technology, headquartered in Schongau, Germany, is a part of the Switzerlandbased group HOERBIGER Holding AG. HDT is the world’s biggest independent producer of synchroniser systems with customers across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Victoria Hattersley talks to Franz Soffa, president of HDT Asia Pacific and Michael Haberl, head of Market Segment Asia Pacific and vice-president of HDT Asia Pacific, to find out more about what makes this company unique.

HOERBIGER Drive Technology (HDT) has been developing and manufacturing complete automotive synchroniser systems for many years. As part of the HOERBIGER Group it can count on support from the holding company’s global network across over 50 countries.

Today HDT is the global market leader for its sector with three production sites in Germany (in Oberstenfeld close to Stuttgart and two in Schongau close to Munich) and two sites in China (in Taizhou for truck applications and in Changzhou for passenger car applications).

The plant in Changzhou is a very recent addition to the fold and is part of HDT’s huge global expansion plans which were put in train by mid / end 2010. These plans involve the complete restructuring of HOERBIGER’s drive technology to give its hugely successful global organisation a more regional focus which came into effective on 1 August 2011. Franz Soffa is President of the new business division HDT Asia Pacific whilst Michael Haberl is vicepresident of the Asia Pacific region.

Mr Haberl explains the reasoning behind the expansion in China and this growing focus on providing regional services: “We have many key customers in China, including major OEMs and tier-one suppliers, who are looking for standardisation on a global basis. This has forced us to go to China so our customers can localise their transmission systems but still use the same suppliers as product specifications can differ between suppliers. We want to be as close to the customer as possible. Also, although it has cooled down a bit by maybe 20 per cent gross rate a year to around 8 per cent, China is still the fastest-growing market and also the local automotive industry is looking for HOERBIGER products.”

Further expansion

In addition to this marked focus on China, there are other markets in which HDT sees opportunities for growth. According to Mr Soffa, “China is our hub for all of Asia, so we are looking to serve South Korea from here. Some South American markets are obviously growing now but the market for transmissions is not ready for our products yet. However, South American development is driven by Europe so companies like GM and Volkswagen. We will keep a close eye on this market as well.”

From its Germany facilities, HDT is able to serve the whole of Europe but also its American customers. Mexico, for example, is a particularly fast-growing market for the company where it has won some key customers and has established an assembly facility there recently.

The full package

This global success is the result of years of experience during which HDT has honed its expertise in order to create a strong portfolio of high quality, reliable drive systems. The core products which HDT is focusing in future on are synchroniser systems for manual (MT), automated manual (AMT) and dual clutch transmissions (DCT).

Finova

Finova supplies Hoerbiger with high quality clutch rings, produced by fineblanking and further processes, being applied in various synchronizations all over the world.

The relation of finova and Hoerbiger is characterized by a strong and long lasting partnership for many years.

Due to the special knowledge of clutch ring manufacturing and synchronisation parts for automotive transmissions, finova has become a key supplier for Hoerbiger by delivering the high quality Hoerbiger requires.

HOERBIGER Group is active throughout the world as a leading player in the fields of compression technology, automation technology and drive technology. In 2010, its 6.700 employees achieved sales of 950 million Euro. The focal points of its business activities include key components and services for compressors, gas engines and turbomachines, hydraulic systems and piezo technology for vehicles and machine tools, as well as components and systems for shift and clutch operations in vehicle drive trains of all kinds. Through innovations in attractive technological niche markets, the HOERBIGER Group sets standards and delivers cutting-edge solutions for the benefit of its customers.

Indeed, its ability to produce complete synchroniser systems in-house in a combination of machining and sheet metal forming processes could be said to be one of HDT’s strongest selling points; as Mr Haberl explains: “We are the only one in this sector who can really provide the complete system. There are many companie’s who produce various components but we are a total system supplier. We use a unique combination of technologies and friction linings and we also have the service engineering capacities, so customers can come to us for all their needs.”

Focused on innovation

HDT’s success can also be attributed to the constant development of new products. A new addition to its range, for example, is its smart key synchroniser system (SKS) which is capable to replace the current conventional synchroniser system. The new system is much more easy to manufacture and less complex, as Mr Haberl points out, makes it more robust. It also offers improved shift quality, reduced noise, more compact and is a highly economic solution.

“We have just brought this to the market so we don’t have big serial production for it yet,” he explains. “We do have a lot of interest in it though so within the next 12–14 months we would expect to be running it in bigger volumes.”

The company’s advanced engineering department works with an eye to how the industry will evolve in the years to come. One of the major goals in the automotive industry at the moment is to reduce cost while at the same time keeping performance at the same level. HDT currently has a product in development which it calls its ‘best cost synchroniser’, and which it hopes will go some way to answering this need.

R&D is also focused on the environmental side of things. Lightweighting and fuel-efficiency is a key issue across the automotive industry today, and HDT has been working on solutions to accommodate this need. Mr Soffa explains how the company is trying to achieve this: “Apart from improved performance our new synchroniser will also be lighter, which we have achieved with forming technology because it is still not possible for us to replace our steel parts with plastic, carbon fibre or other lightweight materials.”

Looking ahead, HDT has no major plans for acquisitions in medium run but instead is looking to grow organically in terms of its drive technology. In this way, Mr Soffa is optimistic that HDT will double its size in 10 years from a turnover of approx. €300 million to more than €500 million. Especially his division – HDT Asia Pacific - will contribute a major portion to this growth. n