WABCO Holdings Inc. (NYSE: WBC), a leading global supplier of technologies and services that improve the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles, today officially opened its new state-of-the-art Global Technology and Innovation Center in Hanover, Germany.
Significantly expanding WABCO’s global product development and engineering capabilities, the nearly $30 million facility will play an important role in ensuring WABCO’s technology leadership is sustained through future generations of innovation. This includes developing pioneering technologies to support the industry’s migration towards increasingly autonomous, connected and electric commercial vehicles.
The 11,500 square meter (124,000 square feet) facility, inaugurated today, includes contemporary workspace for over 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 Global Technology and Innovation Center will fulfil a central role within WABCO’s integrated network of product development and engineering centers that now spans four continents. Specifically, it will provide center 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 Chief Executive Officer, speaking to an audience of WABCO employees, guest customers, and representatives from city authorities and central governments at the opening ceremony.
“This facility represents a major step to further enhance WABCO’s capacity and capabilities in advanced systems development and integration. 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.”
“For nearly 150 years, WABCO has continuously pioneered safety and efficiency technologies which have led the commercial vehicle industry worldwide,” said Dr. Christian Brenneke, WABCO Chief Technology Officer. “Equipped with state-of-the-art laboratory and testing facilities, this new Global Technology and Innovation Center will 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.”
Brenneke also added, “As these systems become increasingly complex to design and integrate, this center 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 programs worldwide.”
WABCO’s extensive 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 Center, 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.
