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Arnd Franz
Head of the MAHLE Aftermarket division |
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Our efforts to extend the range of MAHLE products for the aftermarket are making good progress. The expansion of the turbocharger program for commercial vehicles that began last year is bearing its first fruits. There has been a strong growth in the range of MAHLE turbochargers for both European and American applications to cover vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, MAN, Volvo, Scania, DAF, Iveco, though also construction machinery from manufacturers such as Caterpillar and Komatsu. The program is being rapidly expanded in the direction of new vehicles and engines with turbochargers.
The air mass flow sensors introduced into the MAHLE program six months ago are also proving very popular. As an ideal system supplement to MAHLE air filters, air mass flow sensors from MAHLE ensure the engine management functions through precisely calibrated measurements of the air mass flow because they are exactly matched to the intake system of the relevant vehicle.
Both products topped the growth potential category in a comprehensive survey of its vehicle parts trade customers carried out by MAHLE Aftermarket as a supplement to the presentation of various product launches and concepts during the Frankfurt Automechanika. As a further result of the survey we have taken the next step in expanding our range of products. As you know, the core of our product strategy is the combustion engine and its peripherals. Apart from components such as pistons, piston rings, cylinder liners, bearings and valves, this primarily includes the fields of air management, oil circuits, coolant circuits and fuel management.
Air management at MAHLE includes—alongside the air ducts, casing components and intake tube that are not subject to any significant wear—the air filter cartridge with safety elements for dusty applications, the air mass flow sensor, control mechanism for variable intake tubes, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) with EGR valve and EGR cooler, turbocharger with charge-air cooler through to the oil mist separator and crankcase vent. MAHLE‘s competence in air management now covers related functions in the vehicle too such as the air compressor that ensures the supply of compressed air in commercial vehicles, and, since the start of the close cooperation with Behr last year, vehicle air conditioning with components such as condensers and evaporators as well as the familiar MAHLE Original and Knecht cabin air filters.
A large share of the coolant circuit components that are now being tackled are also due to the cooperation with Behr. These include the radiator with the corresponding expansion tank, coolant thermostats as well as indirect chargeair coolers and oil coolers. MAHLE competence in oil circuits covers the oil filter, oil cooler and more recently controlled oil pumps too, whose use in modern engines is increasing dramatically. Starting with thermostats, we will gradually add all of these products to the MAHLE Aftermarket program with oil filters to offer an increasing aftermarket competence in fluid management for all automobiles.
We will also be strengthening our main business in Europe too, for example with filter elements. This includes the establishment of additional capacities for the production of cabin air filters at the location in Timisoara, Romania, to satisfy the growing demand from European workshops for cabin air filters as well as future OEM projects. At the Gebze location in Turkey we are expanding our production capacities for air filter elements to supply local OEM customers including spare parts business as well as the independent aftermarket. An extensive investment project is also under way for screw-on oil filters at our production plant in St. Michael, Austria, so as to be able to further increase output quantities. MAHLE therefore continues to invest in filter elements and will push the performance of the MAHLE Original and Knecht brands to even higher levels.
We have also taken an important step through the integration or our engine parts catalogue in TecDoc. In close cooperation with TecDoc it is now possible to identify a large number of matching engine parts—pistons, piston rings, cylinder liners, bearings, valves, valve guides and seat inserts—for numerous engines. The number of engines and vehicles included in the catalogue will be extended even further in the near future to make TecDoc the leading catalogue platform for engines too. The extensive TecDoc competence of the MAHLE catalogue specialists will also be decisive for the launch of our new product groups. See for yourself in the latest TecDoc version or the electronic catalogues of our trade partners.
We are delighted by your interest in MAHLE products.
Yours,
Arnd Franz