Showing posts with label european. Show all posts

Daimler and AKKA Technologies create a new leading European engineering consultancy

By Adji | Published Friday, 9 December 2011

Daimler AG and AKKA Technologies S.A. will jointly manage the MBtech Group, an internationally leading engineering and consulting company based in Sindelfingen, in the future. The details are specified in an agreement signed by Daimler and AKKA Technologies on December 7, 2011. Subject to the approval of the antitrust authorities, AKKA Technologies will acquire a stake of 65 percent; until now, MBtech has been a 100 percent Daimler subsidiary. With a substantial equity interest of 35 percent in the future, Daimler will remain a long-term and strategic shareholder as well as an important client of MBtech.

The entry of AKKA Technologies at MBtech Group will create one of the biggest European engineering consultancies. AKKA Technologies is a listed company and is an engineering consultancy for the automotive, aeronautics, space, transport and energy sectors. In the area of aeronautics engineering, the company is already the market leader in Europe. In the future, that position will be held by AKKA Technologies and MBtech also in the automotive sector, where the Sindelfingen company has its focus.

The two companies complement each other ideally in their sectoral structure, client portfolio and regional positioning: AKKA Technologies has its main focus on France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, while MBtech has a strong market position in Germany, China and the United States.

Together with the new majority shareholder, MBtech will broaden its competence profile outside the automotive industry and expand its international market position in the coming years. Daimler and AKKA Technologies intend to jointly develop the company and to strengthen its competitiveness on a sustained basis. This will protect jobs at MBtech while offering new opportunities for the workforce in an expanded international environment.

“With AKKA Technologies, we have found a strong and well-established partner whose product offering is an ideal supplement to MBtech’s activities. Through the new partnership, MBtech will utilize market opportunities for engineering services even better than before, allowing it to participate even more in the future worldwide growth in this sector,” stated Professor Dr. Thomas Weber, Member of Daimler’s Board of Management for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. “At the same time, the enhanced competence profile of MBtech will provide important support for Daimler’s product and technology offensives,” he continued.

“AKKA Technologies was born out of a vision I once had, which I continue to pursue: ‘How we can turn the passion that our talented team has for technology into innovative solutions for our industrial customers.’ This partnership will turn that vision into a reality: with MBtech and Daimler we are embracing a whole new world of new business and career opportunities. Together, we will develop new products and services and strengthen our power to innovate,” promises Maurice Ricci, Chairman and CEO of AKKA Technologies.

AKKA Technologies employs a workforce of 7,000 people at more than 50 locations and expects to post revenue of 545 million euros in 2011.

The MBtech Group was established by Daimler AG in 1995. The company develops, integrates and tests automotive components, systems and modules, and employs 2,900 people at locations in Europe, North America and Asia. In the year 2010, it posted revenue of 300 million euros.

Source: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Posted in akka technologies, consultancy, daimler ag, engineering, european, leading, mbtech | Leave a comment

New Actros takes “European Transport Sustainability Prize 2012” award

By Adji | Published Thursday, 1 December 2011

The new Mercedes Benz Actros has taken the “European Transport Sustainability Prize 2012” award in the “Trucks from 7.5 tonnes” category. This is the first year the prize sponsored by the Huss-Verlag publishing house has been awarded. The jury statement highlighted the vehicle’s low fuel consumption, which was achieved in spite of the technology measures required to meet the Euro VI standard.

New Actros fulfils the Euro VI standard

This makes Mercedes-Benz the first supplier to develop a truck that meets the future Euro VI exhaust emissions standard. This achievement includes an 80-percent reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions.

Mercedes-Benz truck sets fuel economy record

The development objective for the new Actros was to reduce fuel consumption in spite of the Euro VI technology requirements. The current Actros 1844 LS was already the record-holder as the world’s most economical series-produced truck in this context. When the two models went head-to-head in a “record run” in summer 2011, the new Actros 1845 BlueTec 6 with Euro VI technology recorded fuel consumption of 25.9 litres / 100 km, 4.5 percent better than the existing record-holder. The new Actros BlueTec 5 with Euro V technology posted an amazing 25.1 litres / 100 km, 7.6 percent below the existing record. The FleetBoard telematics system fitted as standard equipment makes economic driving even easier.

Additional safety features and enhanced driving comfort

As well as offering better fuel economy and Euro VI compliance, the new model also features a stronger focus on safety. Integrated tyre pressure monitoring for the entire vehicle train reduces the risk of blow-outs, and optimum braking performance is ensured with a new water retarder. A Proximity Control assist with stop-and-go function and mirror with manoeuvring function enhance both safety and driver comfort.

These progressive features and compliance with the future Euro VI exhaust emissions standard have made the new Actros a worthy winner of the European sustainability prize sponsored by the Munich-based Huss-Verlag publishing house. Huss-Verlag has established this prize, awarded in 11 categories, on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. The firm is mainly a publisher of trade magazines in the transport and logistics sector.

The prize for the Mercedes-Benz Actros was handed to Daimler Trucks Worldwide Product Engineering Manager Georg Weiberg by Bernhard Kerscher, Managing Director of TÜV Süd Auto Service, at the German Museum in Munich.

In the words of Georg Weiberg: “We in Daimler Trucks are absolutely delighted with our victory, and we are deeply grateful to Huss-Verlag for this award. We see the prize as further confirmation that with the Actros we are already able to offer the customer a truck for the future, equipped with Euro VI technology. Our aim is to establish the new Actros in the marketplace as a worldwide best-seller on the basis of its fuel economy and safety performance.”