WABCO
| WABCO Holdings Inc.
|
|
|---|---|
 |
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| legal form | Corporation |
| ISIN | US92927K1025 |
| founding | July 31, 2007 |
| Seat | Auburn Hills , Michigan , United States |
| management | Jacques Esculier (CEO) |
| Number of employees | 12,860 |
| sales | $ 2.81 billion |
| Branch | Commercial vehicle / auto supplier |
| Website | wabco-auto.com |
| As of December 31, 2016 | |
WABCO Holdings Inc. is a US-American automotive supplier mainly for the commercial vehicle automotive industry with headquarters in Auburn Hills and another head office in Bern . It is one of the leading suppliers of electronic brake and vehicle control systems as well as suspension and drive systems, primarily for medium and heavy commercial vehicles. The company was taken over by ZF Friedrichshafen AG on May 29, 2020.
Data
The company's headquarters are in Bern. Jacques Esculier is the CEO of the WABCO Group. The internationally operating company has around 13,000 employees in its branches and 28 production facilities. In 2016, WABCO had sales of $ 2.8 billion.
history
WABCO was founded by George Westinghouse in 1869 as W estinghouse A ir B rake Co mpany . He was the inventor of the air brake , which is used on railways and commercial vehicles. Production began in Pittsburgh (USA) in 1870 . The Westinghouse air brake gave the engine driver full control of the train's braking system and no longer had to notify the brakeman. In 1881 a branch was founded in England and in 1884 the German branch in Hanover followed . In 1908, an electronic air brake was developed for subways.
In 1911 Fulmina founded the WABCO Mannheim location for the manufacture of automobiles and industrial ovens. George Westinghouse died in 1914. It is estimated that in 48 years he will have filed a new patent every six weeks. In 1917 the Union Switch & Signal Company was acquired, a company that developed systems for signal displays on rails and for coordinating trains.
In 1921 pneumatic brakes were developed for the growing US automotive market. In 1922 a production facility was founded in Gronau (Leine) . In 1924, due to antitrust laws in the USA, WABCO was obliged to enter into a joint venture with Bendix ( Bendix-Westinghouse ) instead of introducing its own series of brake components. In Europe, the WABCO companies were able to develop independently. In 1924 Fulmina acquired a license to produce Perrot-Bendix brakes .
In the 1940s, the first systems to secure train journeys with self-block signals were built. They ensure safe distances between trains on a track and enable central traffic control. From 1939 to 1945 a pneumatic control system was developed, which allowed ships to change direction in a very short time in order to avoid torpedoes, mines or bombs.
With Melpar a company for research and development of electronics was taken over. LeTourneau-Westinghouse was created with the acquisition of the earthworks company LeTourneau . It also acquired the Le Roi Company, which manufactures compressors, motors and pneumatic tools for the oil, mining and road construction industries.
In the 1960s, sales fell. In 1968, WABCO was taken over by American Standard Companies . The automotive business was retained as WABCO was the market leader in Europe. In the USA, the minority stake in Bendix-Westinghouse was sold.
Since 1972, WABCO and development partner Mercedes-Benz have jointly promoted the development and market launch of an anti-lock braking system (ABS) for commercial vehicles. In 1976 WABCO signed a cooperation agreement with Texas Instruments for the development and delivery of a 16-bit processor for a micro-computer that was used as a controller for the ABS in trucks. In 1977 the production facility in Leeds and a joint venture with Sundaram Clayton Limited in Chennai took place .
In 1981 the company introduced an anti-lock braking system (ABS) for heavy trucks. 1985 saw the opening of a factory in Meppel . In 1988 a separate test track was built in Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle for braking and driving dynamics control systems.
In 1990, Arvin Meritor and WABCO founded the US joint venture Rockwell Meritor WABCO , later Meritor WABCO , as a North American supplier of ABS for heavy-duty trucks, tractors, trailers and buses.
The rail vehicle sector ( English Railway Products Group ) was separated from the company through a management buy-out . Under the original name of "Westinghouse Air Brake Company", a new company emerged that also adopted the WABCO brand name in the rail vehicle sector. In 1999 it merged with MotivePower Industries to form "Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation" ( Wabtec ).
In 1994 the company opened a second test track in Jeversen , near the main development and production center in Hanover. The oval with a length of 2,000 meters and two steep curves is suitable for speeds of up to 120 km / h and has various road surfaces for the development and testing of control systems for commercial vehicles and cars. Also in 1994, the WABCO Group took over Deutsche Perrot-Bremse by American Standard .
In 1996 a new production facility was established in Charleston (South Carolina) through a joint venture with Cummins Engine. In 1996, the first electronic braking system (EBS) was developed for commercial vehicles.
In 1997 Rockwell Automotive became Meritor Automotive , an independent company that manufactures components and systems for trucks.
In 1998, Rockwell WABCO Vehicle Control Systems changed their name to Meritor WABCO Vehicle Control Systems . After the introduction of the EBS for trucks / buses in 1996, the electronic braking system for trailers (TEBS) was introduced.
In 2001 a new WABCO factory was built in Breslau (Poland) and one in Pyeongtaek (Korea).
In 2002 a joint venture took place in Jinan , Shandong Province , China. In the same year, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) was introduced for commercial vehicles, which supports the driver in potentially dangerous situations through automatic traffic monitoring, distance sensing and braking. Electronically Controlled Air Suspension (ECAS) was also offered for cars, SUVs and small commercial vehicles. As a supplement to EBS, WABCO introduced an electronic stability control (ESC), and in cooperation with Michelin the first self-sufficient tire pressure monitoring system (abbreviation IVTM for Integrated Vehicle Tire Pressure Monitoring ) for commercial vehicles was created.
In 2004 one of the lightest air disc brakes was created. The Vario Compact ABS for trailers - a compact and easy-to-install modular system - was offered in the 2nd generation (VCS II). An air dryer cartridge with an integrated filter was introduced to increase the life of air pressure and braking systems.
2006 saw the introduction of the latest generation of electronic brake systems for trailers (TEBS E) as well as a compressed air disc brake for heavy trucks and buses, a de-oiling catalyst for compressed air systems and a two-stage compressor for commercial vehicles.
On 31 July 2007 WABCO was American Standard spun off and as since 1 August 2007 Aktiengesellschaft under the symbol WBC on the New York Stock Exchange listed. The former mother changed her name to Trane and was acquired by Ingersoll-Rand in December 2007 .
On February 13, 2014, WABCO announced the 100% acquisition of Transics International, a leading provider of fleet management solutions based in Belgium.
WABCO Mannheim develops and produces pneumatically and hydraulically operated disc and drum brakes for all types of commercial vehicles and supplies manufacturers of trucks, trailers and buses as well as axle manufacturers. In the development of brake cylinder and wheel brake-related products, WABCO Mannheim works closely with the plants in Hanover, Meppel (Netherlands) and Breslau (Poland). WABCO currently employs around 365 people in Mannheim, including 40 development engineers.
The new technology center was opened in Hanover on August 21, 2018. After a construction period of around 18 months, a building complex of around 11,500 m² was built on the factory premises, which offers space for more than 420 employees. This building is the centerpiece for research and development of adaptive braking systems and other technologies from the WABCO portfolio for all locations worldwide.
In February 2019 the company moved its second headquarters from Brussels to Bern . At the end of March 2019, it was announced that the automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen is taking over WABCO for 7 billion US dollars. On June 27, 2019, WABCO's shareholders approved the takeover offer. The process was completed on May 29, 2020.
Test tracks
The company has three test tracks of its own in Rovaniemi (since 1988), in Jeversen (since 1995) and in Chennai (since 2001).
They are specially designed for commercial vehicle tests and allow tests under natural conditions on various road surfaces and different weather conditions. WABCO tests braking, stability control, ABS, anti-slip, air suspension and tire pressure control systems.
Web links
- wabco.de - Official website of WABCO (German)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Legal Entity on wabco-auto.com
- ↑ Senior Management on wabco-auto.com
- ↑ a b FORM 10-K on wabco-auto.com
- ↑ WABCO Global Headquarters
- ↑ "About us" at wabco-auto.com, accessed on March 30, 2017
- ↑ "Press Release: WABCO Opens State-of-the-Art Global Technology and Innovation Center" at wabco-auto.com, accessed on August 28, 2018
- ↑ SWI swissinfo.ch, a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation: Wabco car systems manufacturer moves HQ to Switzerland. Retrieved April 3, 2019 .
- ↑ For 7 billion dollars: ZF Friedrichshafen buys brake manufacturer Wabco . ISSN 0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed April 3, 2019]).
- ↑ https://www.wabco-auto.com/en/media/media-center/press-releases/press-releases-single-view/news-article/wabco-to-be-acquired-by-zf-friedrichshafen -for-13650-per-share-in-cash /? cHash = 3f700f12661faa4aa30c02f16fc7e530
- ↑ https://www.automobil-industrie.vogel.de/zf-friedrichshafen-uebernnahm-wabco-a-815448/
- ↑ ZF successfully completes acquisition of WABCO. ZF Friedrichshafen AG, accessed on June 2, 2020 .