Close relationships with clients and a
knack for reading the market have seen Dewetron grow into a global provider of
data collection hardware and software.
There are even occasions when Dewetron
develops new features based on feedback that is shrouded in secrecy, given
manufacturers’ needs for confidentiality regarding new hybrid and electric
vehicles. “Sometimes, if we’re working with a customer like Audi, for example,
we’ll go with them to a test bench, do the data recording, take measurements
for the efficiency of the hybrid or electric car, but never do any analysis.
Sometimes a customer comes to our headquarters in Graz with a prototype car and
we implement the measurements, do the testing with their driver – and then we
never see that car again.”
The
Dewe2-F-series don´t have a built-in computer but supply measurement data over
a robust high-speed PCI Express bus. Multiple units can be daisy-chained.
This does, however, enable Dewetron to
direct its own research along the same path as its customers’ requirements –
for hardware as well as software. “Sometimes we get a request from one
customer, and then a few months later get the same request from another
manufacturer. So we’re always trying to improve our software. And we also need
powerful hardware on which to perform the calculations.”
Looking forward
Continued investment in R&D has paid
off for Dewetron, and the company has consistently shown year-on-year growth –
even during the 2009 recession that hit the automotive industry so hard.
Admittedly, this is partly thanks to the company’s wide-ranging remit of
applications (Dewetron provides testing and measurement equipment for clients
in aerospace and defense, energy and power, as well as the transportation
sector), but Zaff believes that committing to in-house research and development
has paid dividends. “Our R&D department started 14 years ago,” he says,
“and it has been growing ever since. In the past three years, the number of
staff has tripled.”
Dewetron
offers comprehensive data acquisition solutions for evaluation of vehicle
dynamics. Dewetron´s unique Sync-Clock™ technology ensures synchronized
recording of all sensor systems and sensors.
Such investment is indicative of Dewetron’s
strategy, which shows an impressive amount of foresight. “During the recession
we did a lot of work in the power sector,” Zaff explains. “But we also went
ahead with the development of e-mobility and hybrid car measurements, despite
the fact that all our customers told us they didn’t have the budget to work in
those fields at the time.”
In the years that followed the economic
downturn, those same customers found themselves looking to spend money on
testing electric and hybrid systems, and Dewetron’s work saw them emerge as a
leader in the field. “We are in the right markets – the automotive, e-mobility
and hybrid car sectors,” Zaff adds. “With standard automotive tests, we have
more competitors. However, where we possess key features and more functionality
is in the testing of e-drives and e-mobility. Dewetron is ready for the next
few years.”
Wheel
pulse transducer by Dewetron
And with the automotive industry clearly
demonstrating the demand – Zaff estimates that around 60% of Dewetron’s
automotive testing is currently given over to work on renewable energy systems
– it appears that the company’s ability to look ahead is as strong as ever.
