ESSLINGEN, Germany — Robert Bosch GmbH, DEUTZ AG and Eberspaecher GmbH & Co. KG have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture in the area of diesel exhaust aftertreatment.
The joint venture is to be known as “Bosch Emission Systems GmbH & Co. KG” and to be headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. The agreement is still subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities.
The objective of the joint venture is to use the core exhaust aftertreatment competencies of the three companies involved and, on the basis of a modular principle, to offer complete system solutions for construction and agricultural machinery, as well as for commercial vehicles. These complete systems include electronic control and, if required, also optimized burner technology for the regeneration of diesel particulate filters. The new company is to start operations in January 2010. Series production will likely start in the third quarter of the year.
“We want to establish Bosch Emission Systems in the global market as a technologically leading supplier of complete diesel exhaust aftertreatment systems. As significantly stricter limits will apply to non-road and on-road vehicles in the future in Europe, North America and Japan, demand for exhaust aftertreatment systems will increase strongly. This also applies to mobile machinery and commercial vehicles imported from the BRIC countries,” said Dr. Gerhard Turner, president of the Bosch Diesel Systems division. The target group is manufacturers of engines and machinery worldwide. The product range is tailored to mobile machinery such as excavators, wheel loaders, tractors, and combine harvesters, as well as to stationary machinery. Commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses are a further area of use.
Technologically, the concept is based on a modular principle. Drawing on a large pool of standard components, an exhaust aftertreatment system can be customized to suit any vehicle or machine. “As an engine manufacturer, we have made a name for ourselves with customized solutions. We can now contribute this application know-how to the joint venture. In this way, we are investing not only in our own products, but also in the rapidly growing market for exhaust aftertreatment systems,” said Gino Mario Biondi, management board member of DEUTZ AG, responsible for technology.
In the view of the three joint venture partners, this almost-exclusive use of standardized parts is a clear competitive advantage when it comes to cost, as well as the time taken up by development and validation. It also ensures the necessary flexibility: individually designed tubing solutions, for example, mean that the restricted installation space in mobile machinery can be used in the best possible way.
“With this modular portfolio, Bosch Emission Systems fills a serious gap in the market,” said Dr. Thomas Wünsche, CEO of Eberspaecher Exhaust Technology. “It will provide effective solutions wherever the expense of an individually engineered solution of the kind seen in large-scale series production for on-road vehicles is too high.”
When the joint venture starts operations, roughly 100 associates from the companies involved will be employed at Bosch Emission Systems. Engineering, sales and administration will be based at the headquarters in Stuttgart. “Bosch Emission Systems is a distinct company, working absolutely independently of its parent companies. Right from the start, we will stand for high quality, because the associates assigned to the company have comprehensive experience and know-how relating to a very wide range of applications,” said Wolfgang Albrecht, Bosch project manager and designated managing director of Bosch Emission Systems.
