Expansion of Ricardo, Inc.'s Testing Facilities
17 November 1999
Expansion of Ricardo, Inc.'s Testing Facilities
DETROIT, Nov. 17 -- Ricardo, Inc. is pleased to announce a
major capital investment and expansion to facilities at its Belleville, MI
headquarters. As a part of the Ricardo Inc. strategy to grow the scale and
capability of the business, an order has been placed with Ricardo Test
Automation for the design and construction of four high specification engine
dynamometer test cells.
The timing of this expansion in facilities has resulted from a continued
growth in demand for Ricardo's services from the North American marketplace in
general and from the Detroit based automotive industry in particular. As a
part of the Ricardo group, Ricardo, Inc. offers a wide range of Powertrain and
Vehicle services including design, analysis, simulation, prototype procurement
and assembly, test and development for performance, NVH refinement and exhaust
emissions as well as prototyping, staffing and automotive engineering
software. Ricardo, Inc. operates from offices in Belleville, MI and Burr
Ridge, IL as well as a number of satellite offices in the greater Detroit area
servicing individual clients or projects.
The four new test cells have been specified to absorb up to 500 HP each
from either gasoline or diesel engines and the AC dynamometers will allow a
full range of highly dynamic testing. Industry standard high-speed data
acquisition, combustion analysis and exhaust emissions equipment will be under
the control of the test bed automation system. With full transient vehicle
and drive cycle simulation capability, this facility will provide the advanced
testing environment demanded by the many clients who place engine test and
development contracts with Ricardo.
Ricardo Test Automation, part of the Ricardo group, has a long history of
delivering turnkey engine and vehicle test facilities around the world.
Through combining a comprehensive range of engine and vehicle test products
with a proven record in designing and managing turnkey projects, Ricardo Test
Automation has a strong reputation for delivering technically complex projects
against aggressive cost and time constraints. The test cells will be equipped
with the latest version of Ricardo Test Automation's Windows NT based
TaskMaster 2000 engine testing system which provides on-line simulation of
vehicles and drivelines as well as industry standard drive cycles via direct
digital control of the test engine and dynamometer. Also included is support
for user defined drive cycles, vehicle parameters and driver characteristics
as well as a generic engine management system interface.
The contract has been awarded as a turnkey project and is under the
direction of a Detroit based project manager from Ricardo Test Automation.
The test cells will start full commercial operation by the spring of 2000.
This investment demonstrates Ricardo's continued commitment to serving the
North American Automotive industry with local resources.
Ricardo Inc. is a subsidiary of Ricardo plc, a publicly held company in
the United Kingdom. Ricardo, Inc. was established in 1989 and has operations
in Detroit and Chicago and employs approximately 300 personnel. With Ricardo,
Inc.'s global expertise, the company is able to take a whole-vehicle approach
to providing technology and services to the powertrain and vehicle
marketplace, which it serves.
For further information contact:
Graham Weller
Ricardo, Inc.
Chicago Technical Center
7850 Grant Street
Burr Ridge, IL 60521
630-789-0003