ESSLINGEN & CONCORD, Ont. Canada — The Eberspaecher Group is further expanding its electronics expertise: the Esslingen automotive supplier has acquired, effective Sept. 14, 2016, a majority stake in the Canadian company Vecture, Inc. with around 100 employees. In the future, Eberspaecher Vecture, Inc. will offer battery management products for industrial applications, medical technology and vehicles.
The Esslingen automotive supplier Eberspaecher now holds 80 percent of the shares. The Vecture founders retain 20 percent, and will continue to be active in the management of the company. With this investment, Eberspaecher further expands its electronics business within the Automotive Controls division. Vecture’s extensive expertise in the development and production of mission critical battery management systems, and of complete energy storage systems, facilitates further expansion to the supplier’s vehicle electronics portfolio.
Together, activities in the fields of medical technology and industrial applications will also be further expanded. Additionally, existing Eberspaecher electronics products for the North American market will also in future be produced by Eberspaecher Vecture Inc.
Both Eberspaecher and Vecture are convinced that the joint venture will provide a good basis for future growth and further development of the rapidly growing energy storage market.
“We see great opportunities in lithium-ion battery technology. With Vecture’s many years of experience and expertise we can provide better solutions for vehicle battery management and complement our supercapacitor systems offerings,” explains Dr. Dirk Walliser, COO of Eberspaecher Automotive Controls. “With this, we have the energy management of 12-, 24- and 48-volt on-board networks, as well as highly automated vehicles or mild hybrid functions in mind,” continues Walliser.
Battery Management Systems (BMS) – Background
BMS are necessary to monitor the (charging) status of batteries in order to guard against overcharging or overheating, as well as to protect varying voltage levels and optimize battery life. They are used both in portable applications such as notebooks or night vision devices, as well as mobile solutions. These include memory systems e.g. in construction, rescue and forklift trucks. In vehicle technology, BMS, as part of the overall energy storage system, are the interface between the vehicle and the electronic components installed in batteries. Functions that are necessary for the current operating mode of the vehicle, for example recuperation, on-board power supply stabilization and safety shut-off, are controlled through the BMS.
About Eberspaecher
The Eberspaecher Group is one of the world’s leading system developers and suppliers of exhaust technology, vehicle heaters and bus air conditioning systems. Eberspaecher is also a professional innovation partner for the automotive industry in air conditioning of special-purpose vehicles and in automotive electronics. Customers include almost all European and North American, and increasingly more Asian manufacturers of passenger cars and commercial vehicles. In 2015, the internationally positioned group, with more than 8,600 employees, posted sales of around 4.4 billion Euros.
About Vecture
Vecture, Inc. provides portable battery management systems (BMS) for medical, military and industrial applications. For more than ten years Vecture has developed, tested and produced BMS systems for customers in North America and Europe at its plant in Concord, Ontario (Canada). Founded in 2001, the company is a certified medical technology provider and a leader in the development of energy-saving and performance applications for special-purpose.
