Development of exhaust aftertreatment systems for new emission regulations
Munich, March 2014. The automotive manufacturing company Ford Otosan – a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and Turkish Koç Holding – has commissioned KRATZER AUTOMATION to deliver a test bench based on natural gas burner technology. With the new test system, the company will test catalytic converters and other exhaust aftertreatment systems to develop components for stricter emission regulations. The test bench helps Ford Otosan to meet the targets of the second stage of EURO 6 that will come into force in 2017.
The core part of the new test bench is a natural gas combustion chamber that generates the hot exhaust gas for testing the prototypes in different operating points. With the help of a supplementary dosing unit, nitrogen oxide (NOx) can be added to the exhaust gas stream to simulate the exhaust gas composition of an internal combustion engine. Further add-on modules such as dosing units for soot and water are also available.
With the gas burner test bench, Ford Otosan will measure the performance of catalytic converters and other exhaust aftertreatment systems and quantify the possible reduction in emissions. Endurance tests and other research tasks are also supported by the test system. The natural gas burner technology ensures significantly lower operating costs as compared to a test bench with an internal combustion engine. Energy is only needed to produce the hot exhaust gas stream, additional cooling systems are not required.
The integrated solution from KRATZER AUTOMATION also includes the complete measurement and automation systems. The test bench is regulated and controlled by PAtools software. The modular automation software from KRATZER AUTOMATION is an open system solving all tasks in a simple, efficient and future-proof way. User interface and test procedures are adapted to the individual requirements of Ford Otosan.
The new gas burner test bench will not only be used for the development of exhaust aftertreatment systems: Ford Otosan is planning to leverage the test bench for turbocharger tests in the future. To set up the system for this use case, only the measurement and automation systems need to be adjusted.
The new test bench for Ford Otosan is currently being built by KRATZER AUTOMATION in Germany and will then be implemented in Ford Otosan Engineering Center. The commissioning of the system is planned for April 2014.
About FORD OTOSAN
Ford Otosan (Ford Otomotiv Sanayi A.Ş.) is a joint venture company equally owned by Ford Motor Company and Koç Holding and has been the leader of the Turkish automotive industry for 12 consecutive years. In 2013 it became the best-selling brand in Turkey with a market share of 12.9 percent and had the highest commercial vehicle market share of Ford in Europe with 26.3 percent. Listed among the top 3 exporters of Turkey since 2005, Ford Otosan is the champion of the sector with vehicles and spare parts exported to 79 countries in 2013. It operates in a total of 4 facilities, has 9500 employees and with a staff of 1300 R&D engineers it has the largest private sector R&D organization in Turkey with the highest R&D expenditures in the sector.
Koç Group’s journey in the automotive industry started in 1928 with dealership and gained an industrial nature when Otosan was founded in 1959. After its 55-year history Ford Otosan is Ford Europe’s commercial vehicle production hub with a production capacity of 415 thousand commercial vehicles and 66 thousand engines including the new Duratorq as of 2014 year end. In the assessments made across Ford plants, Kocaeli and İnönü plants are named among Ford’s “Best Vehicle Production Centers”.
Supported by long established business partnerships with its dealers Ford Otosan is represented throughout Turkey by strong names that have embraced this partnership and add value to it. The company offers maintenance, repair and service operations through authorized service stations that are also distributed around Turkey. Standing out with its sensitivity to issues of social responsibility Ford Otosan establishes schools, sets up laboratories and provides equipment and scholarships for vocational schools in the locations where operations are carried out to contribute to the improvement of the quality of education. Driven by Ford’s brand commitment “Go Further” Ford Otosan promises to always think further by producing more excellent products, developing a stronger business model and creating a better world for its people and customers.
More information: www.fordotosan.com.tr/en
About KRATZER AUTOMATION
KRATZER AUTOMATION was founded in 1980 by Gerhard Kratzer and Paul Balz as Gerhard Kratzer GmbH Automatisierungstechnik München. From the outset, the company focused on creating industrial, process-related software. Projects in the company’s early years addressed a wide range of industries: in addition to developing the software for Ruhrgas’ operations control centre in Essen, the company was also commissioned to automate engine test benches for SHELL and BMW Motorsport and supported the ADAC in controlling its breakdown service fleet through the use of mobile data communications.
Since the mid-1980s, the company began developing software tools for various applications, for example for capturing and storing measurements and displaying them in diagrams. Early in the 1990s, KRATZER AUTOMATION was transformed from a pure software company to a general contractor offering an end-to-end service. In 1999, the company was converted into a stock corporation.
For more than 33 years, KRATZER AUTOMATION has been a successful software company for process-oriented solutions in the automotive, electronic manufacturing and the transport industries. In all three sectors, we strive for optimal solutions and efficient processes along the customer value chain.
KRATZER AUTOMATION proposes cadis, an operational Transport Management System (TMS) to optimise the planning, the execution and the analysis of all operational work processes for the distribution of goods for freight forwarders. Shipment tracking and optimization of working processes are two central components.
The workforce increased continuously to its current level of around 200 employees who work at eight locations worldwide both in Europe and Asia. In addition to its headquarters in Munich, KRATZER AUTOMATION has branch offices in Stuttgart and Wolfsburg, as well as subsidiaries in France, Great Britain, Czech Republic and China.
The following organisations are customers of Kratzer Automation: BMW, Bosch, Geodis CIBLEX, Daimler, DB Schenker, DHL, DPD, IDS Logistik, Liebherr, MAN, MTU, Porsche, Austrian Post, Siemens, TNT, Umicore, VW and Zollner.
In its Test Systems division, KRATZER AUTOMATION plans and implements test systems for the automotive industry, for example for engines, turbochargers and gear chains. In particular, the company focuses on developing test benches for energy-saving and environmentally friendly drive concepts.
More information and pictorial material are available at:
www.kratzer-automation.com
www.testsystems24.com/en/
Press contact:
KRATZER AUTOMATION AG
Jens Isenbeck
Head of Marketing & Communications
Gutenbergstr. 5
85716 Unterschleissheim
Germany
Phone: +49-(0)89-32152-521
Fax: +49-(0)-89-32152-599
Internet: www.kratzer-automation.com