ZF Friedrichshafen AG expands its E-Mobility division with new buildings and locations. On June 14, the technology company opened a new building for administration, R&D, and sales at the divisional headquarters in Schweinfurt. In Pančevo near the Serbian capital of Belgrade, a new plant for electric drives will go into operation next week.
“The demand for electric driveline solutions has grown enormously,” says Michael Hankel, Member of the Board of Management of ZF with responsibility for areas such as E-Mobility and Corporate Production. “This is why we have invested heavily in this division, creating attractive employment opportunities and increased production capacity. With electromobility, ZF is paving the way for next generation mobility solutions and contributing to a reduction in worldwide vehicle emissions.” Electromobility, Vehicle Motion Control, fully automated driving, and integrated safety are the four technology pillars that support ZF’s “Next Generation Mobility” strategy.
Modern Office Concept
With the new building in Schweinfurt, ZF has created space for around 520 employees. The workspaces are based on ZF’s office 3.0 concept, which enables project-based, flexible working and makes it easier for employees to communicate with each other. “This modern office concept creates the perfect all-purpose working environment. It reflects the transformation in the working world, which is now marked by agility and digitalization. We want to provide our outstanding employees with an outstanding place to work,” comments Jörg Grotendorst, Head of the E-Mobility division. The EUR 30 million building is also home to 16 Test Benches and checking facilities that can be used to test electric and hybrid drives and their components.
With more than 9,400 employees, Schweinfurt is one of the biggest ZF sites in the world. ZF is also the biggest employer in the Lower Franconia region. In addition to the E-Mobility division founded in 2016, ZF’s Aftermarket division is also run from Schweinfurt.
New Production Sites for Electric Drives
ZF is also expanding the E-Mobility division and increasing its production capacity at two other sites. Next week, after just a year of construction work, the new Pančevo plant will go into operation. At the plant, located 14 km northeast of the Serbian capital of Belgrade, ZF will primarily produce electric motors, generators for hybrid and electric drives, transmission selectors, and microswitches. This site is already being expanded to meet the huge demand for these products. Around 1,000 employees are set to work at the site in the future. Another production location for electric drives is currently under construction in Hangzhou, south of Shanghai, China. This plant is set to go into operation next year.
Member of the Board of Management of ZF Michael Hankel says, “We want to offer our customers outstanding technology solutions. Being successful in the long term requires cost leadership as well as technology leadership. We can achieve these targets through the high degree of commitment shown by our employees and with our global production network. This gives us a balanced presence in different regions, which in turn allows us to be close to our customers and create competitive cost structures.”
