With its CAN-based multiplexing units, Marquardt is keen to do business with commercial vehicle manufacturers to create smart Man Machine Interface (MMI).
Germany-based Marquardt Group has invested in an R&D centre at Pune as a part of its wholly owned subsidiary in India, Marquardt India Pvt. Ltd. Keen to conduct business with commercial vehicle manufacturers, Marquardt India has the ability to develop smart MMI switches. These will find use in CV multiplexing units. Multiplexing units are a part of the multiplexing architecture, which offers significant design flexibility in order to realise truck and bus specific requirements starting with Central Body Control Unit (CBCU) and Customised Modular Instrument Cluster (CMIC), as basic vehicle components. Additional multiplex nodes or powertrain components can be easily added to achieve a scalable and future-proof network system.
Marquardt, which bagged its biggest order from Tata Motors to supply keyless entry and (remote) start system, plans to utilise the R&D centre at Pune to offer customised switching solutions for various electrical appliances (non-auto), man machine interfaces, electronically controlled damping system and drive assist system. With stress on ingenious engineering, company sources drew attention to the fact that such solutions help to reduce point-to-point wiring harness by modernising the complete system to the CAN-bus level. Announcing that the largest contract to deliver passive entry and start system for various passenger vehicle models will be addressed by the third quarter of 2016, Dr. Harald Marquardt, CEO of Marquardt Group, explained that it is this order that propelled the group to invest in an R&D centre in India. Explaining that the passive entry and start system involves a key-like device that can be held anywhere near the car – in the pocket, wallet or just held in hand, Dr. Marquardt averred, “It will take us at least three years to set-up a complete manufacturing facility here in India. The first batch will consist of 10,000 units of such systems, and will be sourced from our Chinese plant.” He added, “The total contract is in double-digit million euros, and that has motivated us to invest in India over the next two-to-three years.”
The keyless entry and (remote) start system, referred to as ‘Passive Entry Passive Start System’, is made up of a group of products including the key-less unit, the control unit, antenna, door sensor, electronic steering lock and the start-stop button. The system offers the driver the advantage of opening and closing the door, or of starting-stopping the engine by simply pressing a button. Set to play an important role in addressing the order placed by Tata Motors, apart from driving other business interests of the company, the R&D centre in Pune’s Embassy Tech Zone, is spread over 25,000 sq. ft., and was built with an investment of rupees nine crore according to Ran Bahadur Singh, CEO, Marquardt India. Employing 80 engineers and expected to employ up to 200 engineers in the next two-to-three years, the R&D centre is set to play a definitive role in the area of ingenious engineering.
Ingenious engineering
Growing demand for modern vehicles that are fuel efficient, cleaner, comfortable and safer, calls for the employment of modern systems like CAN-bus, which facilitates easier communication with different sub-systems like air-bags, anti-lock braking systems, audio-video systems, doors, windows, mirror adjustments, etc. Said Debashish Tripathy, Head – Development, Marquardt India, “One of the features of this system through intelligent harnessing (keeping in mind the space constraints) is to enhance the fuel efficiency of the vehicle by minimising the power (current) consumption from the battery, putting the vehicle in the sleep mode, until the driver wakes it up through a command.” Achieving sales of EUR 838 million in 2014, Marquardt, specialising in mechatronic systems and components, achieves 84 per cent of its business from the automotive industry. The Indian subsidiary was set up in 1965, and has been offering since smart switches for home appliances like washing machines, dryers and mixers. The company shifted focus to the automotive industry in 2008. Going forward, the R&D centre at Pune will play a vital role in promoting abilities acquired by the group the world over. The centre will collaborate closely with similar such centres at Romania, Mexico, China and Germany.
