Organization

Product Development

At ZF, product development is organized directly in the operative divisions and business units and it is close to the customer.

Here, the development resources are focused, which assures that the technical developments can be quickly converted into competitive products.

Through close cooperation with customers and development partners as well as institutes and universities, the world's latest findings are continuously fed into ZF developments. Patents, utility models, and brands protect ZF's hard-earned know-how.

The divisions and business units are responsible for all development phases including technical market analyses, concept development, system and component simulation, function and software development, design and simulation engineering, prototype construction and testing, right up to the final release. Development of production technology is also integrated into the product units.

Advance Development and basic Research Projects

Central Research & Development

Central Research & Development supports the operative development sectors of the ZF Group in the fields of driveline, steering, and chassis technology. The active support granted is focusing on the following topics:

• Future-oriented operation with regard to components, aggregate, systems, and technologies.
• Further development of methods and processes.
• Cooperation in development projects of the ZF divisions and business units.

An integral element of Central Research & Development's technology orientation is the close cooperation with academies, universities, and institutes within the context of joint research projects.

Central Research & Development provides its services for the following fields of activity:

• Pre-development:development of new units and systems, from the concept to final testing in a vehicle;
• Technical computing:calculation of service life, vibrations, and sound radiation characteristics of components and units, simulation of entire vehicles;
• Electronics: development of electronically networked systems, hardware,software, mechatronics, control methods;
• Construction tasks: construction methodology and development tools, product data management and document administration;
• Gear development: design and calculation of gears, development of production and testing media data, theoretical and experimental basic research tests; Acoustics, Components,
• Testing:functional and service life behavior of units and components as well as measurements of stress, vibrations, and noise;
• Materials technology:application development, tests and specifications of metals, lubricants, and polymers;
• Patents: protecting commercial rights, patents, utility models, and brands.

Last Update: 14.04.2008