AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – FEV GmbH (Germany) and FEV Inc. (FEV) of Auburn Hills, Mich., says it has completed the acquisition of DGE Inc., an electronics engineering firm located in Rochester Hills, Mich. FEV calls the acquisition a strategic move to enhance its current electrical/electronics and vehicle systems expertise, that will broaden its reach into the area of telematics and infotainment systems.
Stefan Pischinger, president and CEO of the FEV Group and Gary Rogers, president and CEO of FEV Inc., made the announcement.
"The mechanical and electronic functions of the automobile have become inseparable," said Rogers. "There is virtually no vehicular system that is untouched by electronics and computer control. As a vehicle systems developer, FEV has been in the forefront of this technology, and with the acquisition of DGE Inc., we will extend that capability to software development, validation, as well as unique test systems. It allows the company to now influence systems that touch the end-user."
DGE will become a subsidiary of FEV Inc., the U.S. operation of the FEV Group, headquartered in Aachen, Germany. As private companies, terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed. DGE will remain at its current location in Rochester Hills.
Founded in 1984, DGE develops applications for intelligent vehicles that can communicate beyond in-vehicle systems, including infotainment systems that connect with external devices such as iPods and smartphones. One application is under development for interface with smart traffic intersections as part of the Intelligent Transportation System.
"I am excited to play a lead role as the DGE family transitions into this new chapter," said Stephan Tarnutzer, COO of DGE. "We will be able to apply DGE’s complementary capabilities and technologies together with FEV’s worldwide presence to provide our customers with unprecedented end-to-end global engineering services and products."
Pischinger stated that the expertise of the two companies is extremely complimentary and provides a very strong capability set to the combined worldwide customer base.
"The work of FEV has expanded globally over the past 35 years, and today encompasses not only powertrain and transmission design, but entire vehicle systems," said Pischinger. "We have grown our electronics expertise accordingly, and have become recognized experts in control system, algorithm development and integration. By merging the expertise of DGE with our own capabilities, we can now develop complete systems from a clean sheet of paper to the final user interface."
