Flying high Buhler Motor

FLYING HIGH

Buhler Motor is a pioneer in the design, manufacture and sale of mechatronic drive solutions. Abigail Saltmarsh looks at its new aircraft seat actuation systems

Buhler Motor is ready to soar with yet another new product. The global leader in mechatronic drive systems has announced the launch of another groundbreaking new solution – this time in the world of aviation. Director of industrial solutions, Randy Davis, said that the company had made the announcement at Aircraft Interiors Expo 2013, where it had been met with great enthusiasm from those in the industry.

“This is a new aircraft seat actuation system called PAXCOM, which we have developed in collaboration with Dornier Technologie,” he explains. “It is an integrated movement system for business and firstclass areas within commercial aircraft and it includes actuators that move the seat, the passenger control unit, and the power supply, as well as all the cabling and harnessing that brings it all together.

“I met with seat manufacturers at the event and was extremely pleased with their response. This is an area that is in real need of more competition.”

Motoring ahead

Headquartered in Nuremberg, as well as in North America and Asia, Buhler Motor is one of the pioneers in the design, manufacture and sale of small brushed DC motors and electronic

Randy Davis, director of product segment industrial solutions commutated (EC) brushless motors. Today the company’s expertise also extends beyond the motors themselves to the development and production of gearmotors and actuators as well as electronic controllers and associated software, allowing the group to be a single source supplier for complete drive systems.

“We operate within three key markets,” says Mr Davis. “These are automotive, industrial and healthcare. My area, the industrial market, includes transport and aviation, as well as agriculture and building automation; all of these segments are global.”

Within these three major divisions, products fall into three subgroups, he continues. These may be defined as catalogue products, variations on those stock service products and customer-specific solutions.

Major step forward

Buhler Motor has been supplying into the area of aircraft seat actuation systems for some time now, he stresses. The announcement at Aircraft Interiors Expo, however, represented a major step forward for the group.

“This is the first time we will be selling to the open market,” he explains. “These PAXCOM systems are our third generation of seat actuation systems. Previous developments have always been with a single customer in mind.”

The new system is 20 per cent lighter than previous systems and is 15 per cent smaller in size, ultimately representing long-term savings for the airline operator. Additional improvements include a 30 per cent reduction in noise. All these additional benefits have been developed with no compromise on quality or functionality.

“All of this has contributed to the excellent interest,” adds Mr Davis. “We expect this to become a very significant element of what we can offer and will contribute to our growth as a company as we move forward.” Investing in production

Buhler Motor produces some 20 million units on an annual basis. Unlike products within other areas, such as automotive, however, volumes of the specialised, higher priced PAXCOM will probably remain low. This is a high grade system, which is likely to be produced in numbers totalling between 1000 and 2000 by the company in Europe.

“Initially, we will produce the systems at our facility in Nuremberg, Germany,” he says. “We have invested in our production areas and developed our manufacturing capabilities to ensure that we are ready to do this. In the future, we will continue to make significant investments and to ensure that we dedicate resources to this area.” Global growth

Initial sales are likely to be within Europe but there has also been interest from customers in North America and Asia. Buhler Motor, which employs approximately 1600 people, has facilities in Mexico, the Czech Republic, the USA and China, as well as in Germany.

“Europe is our most mature market but we are excited about the potential we have in America and Asia as well,” he says. “We are looking for growth in all our three core markets and have some exciting new products in other areas within Industrial as well – in door automation within buildings, for example.

“Future growth is likely to be organic and will be linked to new products, such as these aircraft seat activation systems. We see great opportunities for the future with these, right across the globe.” n

Grieshaber Feinmechanik specialising in: • gears • worms • drives Grieshaber supplies complete assemblies and also realises major customised project developments.

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