EG&G, Inc. Forms Joint-Venture Company with MBtech to Operate Daimler-Benz' Flagship Automotive Proving Ground in Germany
3 September 1997
EG&G, Inc. Forms Joint-Venture Company with MBtech to Operate Daimler-Benz' Flagship Automotive Proving Ground in Germany
WELLESLEY, Mass., Sept. 3 -- EG&G, Inc., announced today that
one of its German subsidiaries, EG&G GmbH, has concluded a joint-venture
agreement to manage operation of Daimler-Benz' new, state-of-the-art
automotive test site, the Papenburg Proving Ground in Emsland, Germany. The
agreement is with a wholly-owned Daimler-Benz subsidiary, Mercedes-Benz
technology (MBtech). The joint venture is named EG&G Automotive Testing
Papenburg (EG&G ATP GmbH).
Scheduled to formally open in early 1998, the facility is expected over
the next several years to create 150 jobs in the Papenburg region. The site
will assess new vehicle and component designs and technologies. In addition
to featuring a 12 km, high-speed circuit, the facility will test brakes,
steering, and assess noise, vibration and endurance of passenger vehicles and
trucks.
"In making our decision, we looked carefully at EG&G's decades of success
in operating its automotive research and testing unit, as well as its
excellent performance in managing facilities such as NASA's Kennedy Space
Center," says Hartmut Tresp, Vice President, MBtech. "We were seeking only
the highest standards of quality and performance."
EG&G will invest in specialized equipment for the Papenburg facility,
which in addition to providing automotive test services for Daimler-Benz, will
serve other European automotive companies, as well as U.S. companies with
automotive operations in Europe.
Daimler-Benz decided to focus its resources on numerous, future core
projects. In order to optimize time and cost factors and to remain
competitive, Daimler-Benz decided to cooperate with an external partner to
provide Papenburg's operating and infrastructure services. MBtech selected
EG&G, Inc., as the firm best suited to be its joint-venture partner for these
tasks.
EG&G companies have been serving the automotive industry for more than 40
years.
EG&G performs comprehensive vehicular and component, as well as lubricants
testing services, and offers a wide range of testing services to the truck,
automotive, off-highway, agricultural and construction industries. EG&G has
testing facilities in Michigan, Texas, and Arizona.
"We are gratified to have been selected to bring our broad automotive
testing expertise to a company known for producing such fine automobiles,"
said John M. Kucharski, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EG&G, Inc.
EG&G, Inc. is a global technology company that provides complete systems,
as well as components, to the automotive, medical, aerospace, photographic,
and other industries. It delivers skilled support services to government and
industrial customers. Based in Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S.A., EG&G has
annual sales of more than $1.4 billion, and more than 14,000 employees.
MBtech was founded on March 1, 1995 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Daimler-Benz. The role of MBtech is to support the Daimler-Benz Car
Development sector in activities to maintain and reinforce its existing
development-service-knowhow, to reduce development costs through the
introduction of external partners and, finally, to monitor the internal market
orientations and trends.
The strategic decision of Daimler-Benz to operate the Papenburg Proving
Ground in joint venture with EG&G represents an additional step to optimize
Daimler-Benz' Car Development Process.
SOURCE EG&G, Inc.