ZF Friedrichshafen AG has acquired the automotive division of Romanian engineering service provider BeeSpeed. The new ZF subsidiary BeeSpeed Technical Engineering Center S.R.L. employs more than 100 developers at the polytechnic university in Timisoara, in western Romania. BeeSpeed has been working with the Braking System Business Unit of ZF’s Active Safety Division since 2008.
“BeeSpeed is a long-term and reliable partner,” said Manfred Meyer, head of engineering in the Active Safety Division encompassing braking and steering systems at ZF. “By acquiring this company, we will have permanently secured the expertise of BeeSpeed’s roughly 110 engineers who work for us as part of BeeSpeed’s automotive division while offering them outstanding perspectives as part of the ZF Group.”
With this acquisition, ZF says it is better positioning itself as a systems supplier, not only in terms of software, system testing and IT, but also with mechanical systems. “This also enables us to further expand our expertise in intelligent mechanical systems as well as our location in Timisoara,” emphasized Meyer.
The incorporation of BeeSpeed Technical Engineering Center S.R.L. as a subsidiary of ZF became legally effective on Jan. 1. Dr. Sever Scridon, head of the Automotive Division and co-shareholder of BeeSpeed, will continue to head up the engineering team in the future.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue growing and to offer attractive employment opportunities as part of an international automotive supplier,” said Scridon. “Graduates and young engineers also view working at BeeSpeed as an attractive prospect. Thanks to our close connections with the Polytechnic University, we were able to add around 40 engineers to increase the number of people in our team to more than 110 by the end of last year, and we expect to double that number to over 230 by 2020.”
BeeSpeed was founded in 1994. In addition to its automotive division, its second mainstay is the automation sector with a focus on electrical engineering and water treatment. BeeSpeed will continue to manage this division independently.
ZF in Romania
ZF Friedrichshafen AG has a total of 4,000 employees at six locations in Romania. In 2017, sales came to roughly EUR 130 million (approximately $148 million US).
