EG&G and Daimler-Benz AG Open New Automotive Testing Facility
8 October 1998
EG&G and Daimler-Benz AG Open Cutting-Edge Automotive Proving Ground in Germany
WELLESLEY, Mass., Oct. 8 -- With a ceremony featuring an
inaugural lap by an experimental Mercedes-Benz test vehicle, EG&G and Daimler-
Benz AG today opened Germany's newest state-of-the-art automotive testing
facility, the Papenburg Proving Ground in Emsland, Germany. Papenburg is
Europe's largest automotive test track, and Mercedes-Benz's first dedicated
large-scale testing complex.
Jointly operated by an EG&G German subsidiary and Mercedes-Benz technology
(MBtech), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler-Benz, Papenburg offers a 12-km
high-speed testing area, as well as a handling track, dynamic pad, braking
track, and wet handling track. Additional test areas will assess noise,
vibration, harshness, and endurance of passenger vehicles and trucks.
Papenburg's test surfaces range from simulated sections of Los Angeles' 710
freeway to European cobblestones. The joint venture company in charge of
instrumentation, track operations and data collection, EG&G Automotive Testing
Papenburg, represents the first test-facility subcontracting agreement between
a German automaker and a U.S.-based corporation.
"It's exciting to see the expertise of two international companies come
together on a global scale to develop a facility such as Papenburg," said John
M. Kucharski, Chairman and CEO of EG&G, Inc. "At EG&G, we pride ourselves on
innovation that offers real benefits and enhances people's lives. Papenburg
will help auto and truck makers bring technological advances to the market
more quickly by reducing testing time. Drivers worldwide will see the
benefits in safer, more durable, and better performing vehicles."
Helmut Keller, President, MBtech, added, "EG&G's engineering and facility
management expertise made them a natural partner for Daimler-Benz. Today, as
a result of that partnership, Daimler-Benz can now benefit from a dedicated
facility as technologically world-class as the cars and trucks we sell."
The new track consolidates vehicle research and development activities
that had been performed at a number of widely scattered facilities and even
public roads.
Daimler-Benz chose to outsource the test facility management after
considering three factors: efficiency, cost, and marketing capability. A
significant increase in new projects combined with internal staff cuts had led
the company to conclude that a third party could operate the track's
infrastructure more effectively and at a lower cost than Benz itself. They
also reasoned that a third-party operator could more effectively market the
track's excess capacity to other European, Japanese, Korean and U.S.
automakers.
EG&G Automotive Testing is part of EG&G's Technical Services segment that
supplies scientific, management and technical services to a range of
governmental and industrial customers including San Antonio's Kelly Air Force
Base, the U.S. Customs Service and U.S. Army and Navy installations.
EG&G companies have been serving the automotive industry for more than 40
years. At test facilities in Michigan, Texas, California and Germany, EG&G
performs comprehensive vehicular and component, as well as lubricant-testing
services, and offers a wide range of testing services to the truck,
automotive, off-highway, agricultural, and construction industries.
EG&G, Inc. , is a global technology company that provides
complete systems, as well as products to medical, aerospace, semiconductor,
photographic and other industries. It delivers skilled support services to
government and industrial customers. Based in Wellesley, MA, EG&G has annual
sales of $1.5 billion and about 12,000 employees worldwide.
Papenburg Proving Ground Fact Sheet
ABOUT THE AGREEMENT:
-- The facility is operated by a joint venture between EG&G, Inc., and
Mercedes Benz technology GmbH, a wholly-owned division of Daimler-Benz AG. The
joint venture company is named EG&G Automotive Testing Papenburg.
-- EG&G ATP's responsibilities include staffing and operating the testing
and proving facilities, maintaining the landscape and infrastructure, and
marketing the track's excess capacity to other automakers.
-- The facility currently employs 60 EG&G employees. Final workforce plans
call for 150 total employees by 2001, and an additional 150 by 2008.
ABOUT THE FACILITY:
-- The Papenburg Proving Ground is Europe's largest test track, capable of
testing 190 vehicles simultaneously, and Europe's only track capable with
purpose-built segments that can handle trucks.
-- Papenburg's opening represents the culmination of nearly thirty years
of planning aimed at developing Daimler-Benz's first dedicated vehicle testing
track.
-- The main complex consists of a 12-km high-speed track, handling track,
dynamic pad, braking track, and wet handling track. Additional test areas will
assess noise, vibration, harshness, and endurance.
-- Surface conditions range from smooth highway, modeled after Los
Angeles' 710 Freeway, to cobblestone European backroads, allowing technicians
to evaluate performance in a variety of environments.
-- Half of the facility's total area has been designated as an
environmental reserve.
-- The track, which is expected to be approximately 70% utilized by the
end of the year, will be available to third-party companies. EG&G ATP has
already successfully leased capacity to Audi and Saab.
EG&G Automotive Testing
Fact Sheet
-- EG&G Automotive Testing is comprised of EG&G Structural Kinematics and
EG&G Automotive Research, Inc. of Troy, Michigan, and San Antonio, Texas,
respectively. These companies provide automotive laboratory testing and field
data acquisition services for complete vehicles, sub-systems and components.
-- Founded over 40 years ago, Structural Kinematics (SK) and Automotive
Research (AR) provide one of the largest and most complete independent vehicle
testing organizations in the world, performing over 300 tests per year on a
variety of cars, trucks, industrial, and agricultural components and vehicles.
-- At its Troy headquarters, SK maintains four test laboratories which
house 14 full-vehicle road simulators, eight multi-axis simulation tables, and
a variety of hydraulic test equipment which perform structural durability,
fatigue testing, and limited safety testing. Simulations can be carried out
under extreme conditions of heat and cold, allowing engineers to perform
reliability studies under real-world conditions.
-- SK testing saves vehicle manufacturers millions of dollars in
development costs by compressing as much as 100,000 miles of wear and tear
into 18 days of laboratory testing. Additionally, safety engineers can study
collision damage and injury prevention measures in a controlled environment
that offers accurate, repeatable results.
-- EG&G's SK unit offers value to its customers through its experience and
knowledge in identifying potential problems in vehicle performance, developing
alternative approaches, and validating solutions.
-- EG&G AR specializes in providing independent testing services to
automobile manufacturers, suppliers and fuels and lubricants companies
worldwide.
-- At its facilities, which include test tracks, AR serves as a primary
source for automotive, fuels and lubricants testing services, including
vehicle, component, powertrain, and chassis reliability.
-- EG&G Automotive Testing employs highly skilled technicians and
engineers.
-- EG&G Automotive Testing is a part of EG&G's Technical Services unit,
which supplies scientific, management, and technical services to a range of
governmental and industrial customers including San Antonio's Kelly Air Force
Base, and the U.S. Customs Service and Defense Department.