Automotive News - Traverse City - August 6, 2019 - 11

TUESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2019

SUPPLIERS

Federal-Mogul has
built-in safeguards

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"We are a technology company,"
he says. "We have to keep innovating. It's our lifeblood."
As far as the technology and engineering teams were concerned, he
says, "Chapter 11 didn't impact us."
He adds: "Were budgets depressed? Yes. Were they canceled?
No. Did that make us a little smarter
in choosing products and technologies to pursue? Yes. Did it stop us
dead in the water? No."

'Keep innovations flowing'
During the recession, some companies' CEOs may have decreed
sharp cuts in budgets and head
count. Not Federal-Mogul's.
"That sort of math, that sort of message, never came down during the
bankruptcy or the downturn," he
says. "I don't think anybody lost
sight of the need to keep innovations
flowing."
Federal-Mogul's culture includes
formal processes to develop ideas.
But the supplier also recognizes the
importance of small teams encouraged to come up with fresh ideas,
and of recognizing ideas that simply
bubble up unexpectedly.
Federal-Mogul uses a flow-sheet
internally to illustrate how innovations go from idea to reality. It shows
ideas germinating from sources it labels as "conferences," "customers"
and "legislation" - but also from
serendipitous encounters it calls "interns" and "cup of coffee."
Rainer Jueckstock, president of
Federal-Mogul Powertrain, has described that creative stage as an "adventure." Once the idea appears, it
then goes through more formal "routines" where ideas are vetted and verified.
To encourage the adventure phase,
Westbrooke advises his managers:
"Don't budget the last 10 percent" of
r&d spending. His extensive network
of labs and testing centers are often
used for projects that have not even
been approved or are not yet on the
books. That's fine with him.
Federal-Mogul's organizational structure also contains built-in safeguards
for the r&d and engineering teams.
The company lacks a corporate-level
r&d center. At other companies,
those have sometimes been a tempting target when budget-slashing becomes necessary.
Instead, Federal-Mogul has eight
product groups, such as pistons and
ignition components. Each has its
own technology and engineering
groups, devoted solely to that product line. During the Great Recession,
each product group was responsible
for deciding which projects got funded.

Diverse customers
In addition, the company's diverse
customer base helped when vehicle
sales tanked a decade ago, according
to Westbrooke. At that time, customers in the heavy-duty vehicle engine
segment desperately needed help to
meet stiffening emissions regulations.
If a better seal could deliver a 1 percent improvement in emissions, a
new piston another 1 percent and a
better piston ring another 1 percent
- well, the small gains added up.

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CAR MBS DAILY
Those customers snatched up each
innovation.
Other suppliers also know the value of looking beyond the North
American light-vehicle market.
Magneti Marelli's Software Flexfuel
Sensor and Tetrafuel innovations -
both PACE Award winners - allowed drivers the flexibility to put
any mix of gasoline and ethanol in
their fuel tank.
The overwhelmingly gasoline-oriented U.S. had scant enthusiasm for
the technology.
But in Brazil, where sugar cane-derived ethanol is common, the flex
breakthrough has been a massive
success. Flex-fuel vehicles there
surged from less than 3 percent of
the market in 2003, when the sensor
was introduced, to consistently
above 80 percent.

Japan's Denso Corp. knows what
happens when a company takes innovation for granted.
After being first to commercialize
common-rail fuel injection systems
for diesel engines in 1995, Denso fell
behind rivals such as Bosch and Delphi in the years that followed.
But in 2013, Denso raised its game,
leapfrogging its global competitors
with a fourth-generation system, offering better fuel economy and reduced emissions.
Still, it is a technology that sells
well in Europe but not for light vehicles in North America, where diesel-powered passenger cars are few,
said Doug Patton, chief technical officer at Denso International America
Inc.
On the other hand, North American agricultural-equipment mak-

Magneti Marelli's Software Flexfuel Sensor has been a huge sucess in Brazil,
where flex-fuel vehicles went from less than 3 percent of the market before
its introduction in 2003 to consistently more than 80 percent.

ers, whose end users are keenly
sensitive to higher diesel costs, do
buy the Denso common-rail system.

For farmers, "it's money" in their
pocket, Patton said. Ag-equipment
makers "really look at the system to
improve their value proposition." a

http://www.jatco.co.jp

Automotive News - Traverse City - August 6, 2019

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