Swiss rolling 05 August 2013

The cost of developing new engines and meeting their emissions strictures can be ruinous. Having a wide product portfolio to spread that burden is the way to do it. Ian Norwell reports from FPT's HQ in Arbon

It's a sleepy Swiss town on the shores of Lake Constance, but it is home to FPT (Fiat Power Train Industrial) and the somewhat unlikely setting for the development of some leading edge technologies for, among others, Iveco's engine requirements.

On a clear day, Dr Dirk Bergmann, general manager of the FPT research and development site in Arbon can see across the lake to Friedrichshafen, where ZF and MTU are based. The shores are in fact a hub for a clutch of world-class engineering companies and their antecedents were often aeronautical firms (Zeppelin for one) who pragmatically regarded the lake as a safe place to ditch for test pilots.

Bergmann, 45, has been at the helm of FPT since only last November – but 13 years at the giant marine engine maker MTU, are credentials enough. Compared to many other engine development centres I've visited, his has a compact feel and much of the centre turns out to have been the Saurer engines R&D facility, acquired in 1982.

With six R&D centres worldwide, and 10 manufacturing plants spanning three continents, FPT's range of engines, transmissions and axles is more than enough to feed its needs in the transport, off-road, marine and power generation sectors. For its Iveco, Case New Holland (CNH) and related brands, these together generated 476,000 engines (from 2.2 litres to 20 litres) in 2012, with 67% going to on-road customers. Such capacity allows membership of that all-important global provider club.

The list of alliances, strategic co-operation agreements and customers includes big-hitters such as Daimler, Fuso, SAIC, CAT, Hyundai, Komatsu, Ford and Tata. This success multiplies FPT's already powerful economies of scale, and spreads the risk (from the impact of downturn) in a very effective manner.

As far as Iveco is concerned, FPT supplies the engines for products ranging from the Daily van to the Stralis truck Cursor series. For Euro 6, Iveco continues to plough a lone industry furrow, maintaining its avoidance of EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) and sticking instead with a high efficiency version of SCR (selective catalytic reduction) technology.

Although Iveco may be steering clear of worries surrounding EGR's higher operating temperatures, and the impact they may or may not have on engine longevity, it is paying a penalty in greater AdBlue consumption. But Bergmann is happy being alone on his side of the fence. "Our philosophy with Hi-eSCR is to keep it simple, and we are certain that re-circulating exhaust gases through an engine, encouraging an acidic environment, will shorten its service life," he insists. For him, increased AdBlue consumption is an acceptable price to pay for the preservation of diesel economy.

Cost of ownership
Bergmann's colleague from Turin, Federico Giovanetti, who is responsible for Iveco heavy truck products (Stralis and Trakker), also says that Hi-eSCR is just the beginning of a raft of other developments aimed at cutting into the cost of ownership. He agrees it's an expensive game, but says: "The C16 (15.9 litre Cursor) engine, due next year, would not be justified for on-road application alone, but our agri-business (CNH) is the natural habitat for it. This corporate strength allows us to offer on-road customers more choice."

Seeming to punch above its weight, the operation at Arbon appears to encourage an environment where decision-making is pragmatic, speedy, and engineering- and business-led. Like others, FPT is looking very closely at waste heat recovery and braking energy regeneration, for example, but the debate is what to convert it to – and how best to store it.
"Our agri customers are looking at driving implements with electricity, but for on-road operation battery weight is a problem," explains Bergmann. Taking the burden of driving peripherals away from the engine, though, is also being vigorously pursued. With battery efficiency an upwardly-mobile target, and in-cab electrical drains on the increase, the pair just might get married.

And, from an engineering perspective, this work is well-rounded. Touring the test cells, FPT's attention to detail has led the firm to design all its own test equipment, giving electronic engineers almost as big a share of voice as their mechanical counterparts.

Author
Ian Norwell

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