Frankfurt am Main
North Rhine-Westphalia Minister of Economic Affairs visits Brose at the IAA
North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister of Economic Affairs Harry K. Voigtsberger (Social Democratic Party of Germany) along with other members of the ministry, VDA and Automotive Cluster NRW visited the lounge of the international automotive supplier Brose at the IAA in Frankfurt on September 16th, 2011.
The politician was given a tour of the booth by Rainer Berner, Vice President Product Group Closure Systems, explaining the latest innovations and development concepts of the mechatronic specialist and presenting the extended product portfolio complemented by drives and charging technology for hybrid and electric vehicles.
Minister of Economic Affairs Voigtsberger was particularly interested in the closure systems business developments and the location of Wuppertal, headquarters of this area of expertise. Some 8.5 million closure systems for more than 20 automotive customers, e.g. Ford, Land Rover and Fiat, are produced annually in this Brose plant,
The qualified aircraft construction engineer was particularly impressed by the advantages of the Unilatch, a side door closure system developed by Brose and proven in series production, which has become a market benchmark in terms of weight, package space and acoustics.
The minister found Brose's solution for touch-free opening and closing of liftgates via a capacitive sensor to be "an interesting development and convenient addition to the keyless-entry function", which is activated by a simple foot movement below the bumper.
In view of the product novelties presented to him and the activities of the Brose-SEW joint venture in the field of e-mobility, the politician emphasized the importance of automotive suppliers for the business location of North Rhine-Westphalia. According to Voigtsberger, their role as an innovation motor is an asset that cannot be overestimated.