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Impact of Siemens Automotive's Women Engineers Recognized by Automotive News

19 September 2000

Impact of Siemens Automotive's Women Engineers Recognized by Automotive News

    DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 19 Women represent a growing
segment of the technical automotive community impacting vehicle design, safety
and performance and two of Siemens Automotive's leading female engineers will
be among those women being honored tonight by Automotive News magazine.
    Siemens Automotive's Maria Kremer and Susan Butler are two project
managers responsible for engineering programs that are critical to vehicle
safety and environmental compliance -- two of the industry's most pressing
topics.
    "These women personify the kind of talent we are seeking in the industry,"
said Kregg Wiggins, Siemens Automotive Vice President, Powertrain.
"Leadership, dedication and innovative spirit.  These are the universal
attributes that define success for the individual, as well as the
organization."
    Siemens Automotive Program Manager, Safety Electronics and Restraint
Systems group, Maria Kremer is being recognized by the publication as one of
the 100 leading women in the North American automotive industry this evening
at a ceremony being held at the Ritz Carlton in Dearborn, Mich.
    Kremer, 37, oversees a team of engineers who have been developing an
innovative occupant weight classification system (WCS) designed to identify
and classify vehicle occupants by their weight.  WCS technology will enable
the deployment of "smart air bags" that can optimize the vehicle restraint
systems for occupants of varying sizes.
    "Being a woman in the auto industry can be very difficult -- not because
of my gender, but because the industry is a tough one," said Kremer.  "The
trend in automotive electronics is toward shorter development times, lower
costs and smaller packages.  Men and women alike face these same pressures and
challenges."
    Also being recognized this evening by Automotive News as a rising star in
the automotive industry is Susan Butler, Siemens Automotive Project Leader.
Butler, 31, is responsible for one of the company's International Truck and
Engine Corp. heavy-duty diesel engine control projects.
    A six-person Automotive News selection committee, set out in April, 2000,
to find the North American automotive industry's 100 most powerful women.  The
final selections, which included Kremer, emerged from a long judging process
involving several hundred nominations of influential women.
    Siemens Automotive is a tier-one supplier of automotive electrical-
electronic systems and components with applications covering gasoline and
diesel powertrain systems, safety and chassis systems, body electronics,
electric motor drives and driver information systems.  Worldwide sales in
fiscal year 1998/1999 totaled $3.6 billion.