Page 8 - SCHERDELnews Edition 2/13 english
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COMPANY NEWS
Assembly of valves for automatic transmissions
8
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING – TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT –
NEWS AND INFORMATION
ven in the USA – which for a long
time was perceived as the land of
plenty – large segments of the popula-
tion and the political elite have realised
that a more responsible and efficient
use of resources and energy is the
challenge of the hour. Cutting fuel con-
sumption and improving vehicle effi-
ciency has become the top priority for
U.S. car manufacturers. Compared to
three years ago, when 80% of the vehi-
cles on U.S. roads still had three or
four-speed automatic transmissions –
cars in Europe at that time had already
adopted six or seven-speed automatic
transmissions – vehicle developers are
currently going in a completely new di-
rection. Modern eight or nine-speed au-
tomatic transmissions are the flavour of
the month. At the Chrysler Group’s Indi-
ana Transmission Plant, the company
is building an eight and a nine-speed
automatic transmission under licence
from ZF and claims to have increased
efficiency by over 30%. Key compo-
nents from SCHERDEL are employed
in both transmissions.
SCHERDEL supplies the components
for the valves and torsion springs of the
latest generation of automatic transmis-
sions. The valves are actually an as-
sembly of compression springs and
synthetic parts. Until now, these have
been manufactured at the Czech
SCHERDEL factory in Bor. However,
following the principle of local presence
through internationalisation,
SCHERDEL Sales & Technology (SST)
in Muskegon has now opened its own
production facility for the valves. Two
assembly units, which, just like the
units in the Czech Republic, were de-
signed and built by AFEMA – a ma-
chine specialist within the SCHERDEL-
Group
– have been put into operation
at SST. Furthermore, the Muskegon-
based company has invested in a new
cleaning unit. This was necessary to
meet the high demands placed on the
cleanliness of the components installed
in the automatic transmissions. Any
contamination would naturally impair
correct functioning of the automatic
transmission control unit. By participat-
ing in the recent Transmission Show in
Rochester, SCHERDEL has well and
truly nailed its colours to the mast in the
USA, and the activities of SST clearly
underline its expertise in the field of au-
tomatic transmissions. This year, the
SCHERDEL
Group
will, for the first time,
also take part in all the key transmis-
sion symposia in Germany, China and
the USA.
(dk)
Transmission components
made in USA
SCHERDEL Sales & Technology invests in
new manufacturing systems
E
SST strengthening
the team
The management at
SCHERDEL’s U.S. location
has reacted to the positive
developments there by re-
cruiting new members of
staff: David Maynard Sr., who
for some time was factory
manager at SCHERDEL de
Mexico (SdM), has returned
to the USA and assumed the
position of quality manager in
Muskegon.
Peter Guertin joined the
SST team a few weeks ago
as a new project manager.
(dk)
David L. Maynard
Tel: +1 231 777 7774-118
Fax: +1 231 777 7775
Email:
Peter Guertin
Tel: +1 231 777 7774-106
Fax: +1 231 777 7775
Email:
Contact
SCHERDEL Sales &
Technology, Inc.
3440 E. Laketon Avenue
Muskegon, MI 49442
USA
Tel: +1 231 777-7774
Email:
