WABCO opens state-of-the-art Global Technology and Innovation Centre in Germany
WABCO‘s $30 million Global Technology and Innovation Centre will propel the development of its
WABCO Holdings Inc., a leading global supplier of technologies and services that improve the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles, has opened a new state-of-the-art Global Technology and Innovation Centre in Hanover, Germany.
Significantly expanding WABCO‘s global product development and engineering capabilities, the nearly $30 million
The 11,500sq m facility includes workspace for more than 420 employees based in Hanover, as well as visiting engineering project teams from across the world. As WABCO’s largest research and development hub, the new centre will fulfil a central role within WABCO‘s integrated network of product development and engineering centres that now spans four continents. Specifically, it will provide a centre of excellence and domain expertise for WABCO‘s global engineering team as it collaborates to design and develop WABCO‘s advanced safety and efficiency systems for trucks, buses and trailers.
“WABCO engineering team‘s unique ability to anticipate industry dynamics and innovate ahead of others is a key pillar of our differentiation,” said Jacques Esculier, WABCO chairman and CEO. “By connecting this new hub to the rest of WABCO‘s world, we are optimally positioned to anticipate and accelerate development of the technologies necessary for higher levels of vehicle autonomy, connectivity and electrification that our customers seek globally.”
WABCO chief technology officer Dr Christian Brenneke said for nearly 150 years, WABCO had continuously pioneered safety and efficiency technologies that have led the commercial vehicle industry worldwide. He said the new centre would be at the vanguard of WABCO‘s next generation of autonomous vehicle control and advanced driver assistance technologies, such as active braking, active steering, and electronic stability control.
“As these systems become increasingly complex to design and integrate, this centre will help facilitate even closer collaboration among our talented 2,700-strong engineering work-force, particularly the 1,700 specialists supporting WABCO‘s research and development programmes worldwide.”
WABCO‘s technology portfolio includes multiple commercial vehicle industry-firsts, such as anti-lock braking systems, collision mitigation systems, electronic stability control and automated manual transmission controls. In 2017 alone, WABCO invested $147 million in product development and engineering and was granted over 380 new patents.
In addition to the Global Technology and Innovation Centre, WABCO is planning to invest $21 million to expand its commercial vehicle testing capabilities with the extension of its unique test track for heavy-duty trucks and buses at Jeversen, near Hanover.
