Allianz Center for Technology

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alliance building

The Allianz Center for Technology (AZT) is the engineering test laboratory center for the insurance industry for the analysis of causes and cost calculation of technical defects, including its own museum in Ismaning near Munich.

history

AZT is a subsidiary of Allianz Versicherungs-AG . But it makes more than half of its sales with contract research for other companies in the insurance industry.

founding

Strictly speaking, the history of the AZT began at the moment when the newly hired technicians from the engineering office of the Allianz General Management in Berlin had a microscope purchased. That was in the late 1920s. At that time, the damage experts used the device as well as the machines they had acquired for grinding, polishing and etching in order to examine metal components of machines.

The area of ​​industrial technology

In 1932, Allianz set up its own materials testing facility in Berlin - the first institute in the world to exclusively deal with damage research. Broken steam boilers, turbines, diesel engines, construction machinery or overturned cranes - everything has been examined and documented since then. The work of the test center has been a resounding success: Many technical damage in industry and commerce can be prevented.

The Allianz Center for Technology since 1969

In 1969, Allianz decided to reorganize materials testing and transferred it to a new subsidiary: the "Allianz Zentrum für Technik GmbH". The alliance linked this with an ambitious expansion program. The new center should:

  • coordinate all activities of the alliance in the areas of damage research and damage prevention,
  • bundle all technical services under one roof and
  • extend its research to other areas of property insurance.

The automotive technology division

In 1971 Max Danner expanded the institute to include the automotive engineering division. The division has been operating as an independent GmbH under the name AZT Automotive GmbH since 2007. As a research institute of Allianz Deutschland AG, AZT Automotive GmbH examines issues in the areas of automotive technology and road safety. The main research areas are repair technology, technical safety and accident research. AZT Automotive GmbH cooperates internationally with other insurance-related institutes in these fields (www.rcar.org).

The AZT as a risk management partner

In 2008 AZT Risk & Technologie GmbH was restructured and reorganized as part of Allianz Global & Corporate Specialty AG (AGCS, Munich) in the Allianz Risk Consultants network. Since then, GWP Gesellschaft für Materialprüfung mbH has been operating the workshops and laboratories of AZT Risk & Technology GmbH ("GWP-AZT Cooperation Laboratory") in Zorneding near Munich. The test laboratory tests and analyzes materials, surfaces, catalysts and gases and evaluates material damage. In addition to damage analyzes and development support, GWP also offers laboratory services.

In-house museum

In the foyer of the main building and in the hallways and stairwells there is a “Museum of Mishaps”. From the rodent cast in synthetic resin to the debris of an explosion in an industrial plant, the small causes of major effects are shown. For example, a charred wheelchair illustrates the potential consequences of a loosened battery terminal. Microscope images show, greatly enlarged, cracks and breaks in metal components. After the AZT's head office in Ismaning was closed in 2008, some of the exhibits in the Damaged Pieces Museum were set up on the premises of the GWP Gesellschaft für Materialprüfung mbH in Zorneding near Munich.

Special successes

The vibration diagnostics for power plant turbines resulting from the long-term test make it possible to diagnose 19 different problems based on the characteristic vibrations that occur without the component having to be dismantled.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "History of the AZT" 06/2008 ( Memento from July 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ a b A History of Damage Research - The Industrial Technology Division of the Allianz Center for Technology (AZT) ( Memento from November 11, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) "History of Industrial Technology " (06/2008)

Coordinates: 48 ° 13 ′ 9 ″  N , 11 ° 39 ′ 57 ″  E