The project of building this center started in August last year, and today the Brasov center that has an area of 1,800 sq. m. near to the Continental factory from Ghimbav, is the most modern and complex center of its kind within the company.
“Until now, the components produced by Continental were tested only in the laboratories from Germany. Continental also has such centers in India, China and USA, but the testing and development center in Brasov benefits from the most recent and complex equipment in the field, being able to do a wide range of tests, from the performance tests to the fuel analysis tests”, stated Adrian Turcas, one of those participating to the design of this project. The equipment in this center is cutting-edge equipment, produced in Germany by renowned companies in the field. The center currently has 23 employees, and in the coming years the research team will reach 60 people.
“Continental has invested in a new engineering center because we are developing software and innovative products in the automotive field in Romania. We have 5,000 engineers in Romania, who are developing products and software for a more and more efficient mobility. This means responsibility transferred in Romania, in the research and development teams from here. Our engineers are working to the autonomous vehicle, they are developing applications of interconnectivity in automotive, of energy efficiency and consumption. We need specialists in the field in all our locations in Romania, and we find these people in Brasov”, stated Christian von Albrichsfeld, Continental Romania General Manager .
The investment made so far at Brasov facility is EUR 89 million, with 21 million invested in 2015, the company’s representatives maintain.
The factory in Ghimbav was inaugurated in 2013 as a result of an investment of EUR 44 million. “The activity of our colleagues in this new location is dedicated to Fuel& Exhaust Management commercial unit. They will develop here projects aimed at testing and validating products, but also research and development activities,” said Joachim Zirbs, director of Continental Brasov.
The center is divided into several rooms where tests are executed on components produced by the company.
For the time being, the center in Ghimbav produces four types of fuel pumps (diesel, gasoline, brush and brushless), which from the point of view of carcasses in plastic and various related components represent a variety of dozens of models, and time in time they will reach hundreds of models.
The parts produced by Continental will enter the testing rooms to be checked, so as to meet customer requirements. One of the special rooms is “Vibration test room” where the parts are subjected to extreme tests. “The pieces are subjected to mechanical shocks, for example we can simulate what happens to a certain component on a road with potholes, as if the piece is mounted on a vehicle, but also during the transport of these components,” explained Adrian Turcas.
In addition, in this room also the ageing is tested. “We can see what happens with the respective component after 10 years, if you follow the same standards from the beginning in terms of quality and performance,” added Adrian Turcas.
Similarly, in another room, parts are tested in terms of climate, in the special equipments the pieces being subjected to thermal shock. In the thermal rooms, the piece goes in one second from a temperature of 80 degrees Celsius, to a temperature of – 70 degrees Celsius, so as to be able to observe how the component behaves in such a thermal shock. Last but not least, in the center in Ghimbav there is also a fuel management area, which in terms of complexity is the biggest in the company. Here the parts are tested with different types of fuel, as would be installed in the car’s tank.
The final characteristic of this center is a functional room where will be tested Continental’s new product in the catalytic field, which will enter the production line of the factory in Ghimbav starting with the next year. (source: nineoclock.ro)
