Innovation driver internationality
Whether from England, Sweden or Turkey – around 50 colleagues of ten different nationalities work in the global development of the Bus and Coach Business Unit. In addition to the innovative methods, how does the international composition influence team spirit and results?
3 February 2025 – "We benefit from the diverse backgrounds of the team members – it is an enormous wealth of knowledge and experience and an ideal breeding ground for new ideas," emphasizes Head of Development Kuno Zeller. In addition, market knowledge from various regions of the world helps in the development of thermal management solutions for city buses and coaches.
"The bus business is different from the automotive business and customer needs vary considerably," emphasizes David Rolls, Product Manager and Project Leader." There is no such thing as a single product that fits every bus." The manufacturers offer bus operators highly individualized solutions, and therefore also place different demands on us. The climate zone and outside temperature have a greater influence, as the interior to be air-conditioned is up to 20 times as large as in a car. Tailor-made solutions for the local market are therefore in demand. Globally, the most successful product families are those that can be adapted to all requirements. "I can speak from 27 years of experience: To serve this market, we at Bus and Coach have always been a company with international and technically highly competent employees."
THE PERFECT COMBINATION
The Business Unit's global development team is mainly spread across two locations – Renningen and Bangalore. They work closely together. Every quarter, two employees from India spend two to four weeks in Germany, mainly to build prototypes. "It has become like a second home for us," explains Guruprasad Purohit, Teamleader Mechatronics Global.
The thorough way of German engineering and the faster, practice-oriented approach of his Indian colleagues complement each other perfectly. "After nine years, I've now become half German," he laughs. "It's always a compromise: we follow the processes, of course, but the process is not our ultimate goal, the product is." Together, they combine the advantages of the different working methods and develop a reliable product in the right time.
FOCUS ON THE TEAM
The experts are working on the new product families in two project teams: the AC135 steered from Bangalore and the AC138 EVO from Renningen. Both teams are using the Scrum method, which is particularly well known in software development. "We are applying the agile approach to pure hardware projects for the first time," emphasizes Kuno Zeller. The advantages are short iterations and therefore prompt results and feedback. This promotes rapid project progress, adherence to deadlines and budgets, as well as commitment and fun in working together.
In addition, collaboration in the team is characterized by an open culture of error and trust. There is no bad news in the traditional sense.
"If something doesn't work, it's brought to the table immediately. Obstacles are opportunities for us to improve and learn something new.", says Kuno Zeller.
MILESTONES FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR
The success is evident: in May 2024, the Business Unit delivered the first series products of the second AC135 generation to a manufacturer in the Czech Republic. This was followed shortly afterwards by further launches for customers in Portugal and India. The cost-effective AC135 is thus replacing a number of predecessor products – not only in India, but also in Europe. The developers presented two further variants to the public – the AC135 High Performance for areas with particularly high ambient temperatures and the AC135 Heat Pump for regions with high summer and mild winter temperatures.
At the same time, the AC138 EVO is also making great progress. Eight systems have already been installed for test drives on the customer's buses. The product is on the verge of the first sample production on site at the new plant in Przylesie, Poland. The innovation engine is clearly running at full speed – driven by trust, cohesion, innovative approaches and diversity in the team.
