April-May 2021

NEWS Schaeffler has become a new ‘anchor partner’ to the Stuttgart- based Startup Autobahn innovation platform. This platform brings established companies and start-ups together with the objective of developing new technologies and bringing them to market readiness more rapidly. As an anchor partner, Schaeffler is establishing a network together with various startups that spans the company’s innovation clusters: ‘Hydrogen and Energy Transition’, ‘Electric and Automated Mobility’, ‘Robotics and IoT’, ‘Bearing Technologies’, ‘Material and Surface Science, and ‘Artificial Intelligence’. Uwe Wagner, Chief Technology Officer at Schaeffler, comments: “As a global automotive and industrial supplier, we want to pioneer motion to advance how the world moves. Startup Autobahn is perfect for Schaeffler and is an important milestone in our innovation strategy. Our strategic cooperation with startups enables us to identify growth markets, enhance our core business together with strong partners, and offer innovative, sustainable future technologies.” The network includes 30,000 qualified start-ups. Startup Autobahn, which was founded in 2016 and now includes more than 30 partners, offers a network of 30,000 start- ups. Since the platform was established, more than 320 pilot projects have been developed. In addition to its headquarters in Stuttgart, the network also has locations in China, India and Singapore. Valuable opportunities Sascha Karimpour, managing director at Plug & Play Germany and a co-initiator of Startup Autobahn, says: “We are extremely happy to welcome Schaeffler as the newest anchor partner to our platform. As a leading global supplier to the automotive and industrial sectors, Schaeffler brings over seven decades of expertise in motion and mobility to the table. It is clear that their diverse product and system portfolio will enable valuable opportunities to start-ups. In collaboration with start-ups, OEM’s Schaeffler becomes an anchor partner for Startup Autobahn 14 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS April/May 2021 www.hpmag.co.uk and other partners new ideas and technologies can be developed to the next level for implementation into new services, products and processes. We are looking forward to getting started.” Managers and experts from Schaeffler’s specialist departments select the appropriate start-ups based on the innovation clusters. Pilot projects are then collaboratively developed and, in the next stage, presented to a wide audience at the twice-annual Expo Day event. The subsequent objective is to work together in the continued development of these pilot projects to achieve market readiness. The partner network’s broad spectrum is a particularly attractive aspect. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Tim Hosenfeldt, senior vice president of research and innovation and corporate technology, says: “It provides a place to meet existing customers and a large number of suppliers as well as new partners and exciting companies that have the technologies relevant to us. We see the further digitalisation of our products and production processes in particular as a source of major opportunities for innovation – for both the automotive and industrial sectors.” Since its creation, some seven years ago, the ‘Introduction to Pumping Technology’ E-Learning Training Course, delivered by the British Pump Manufacturers Association’s (BPMA) has always enjoyed good levels of enrolment, averaging between 45 and 55 students annually. However, in the nine-month period since July 2020, there have been over 100 students sign up for this online training. This significant increase could, in part, be down to COVID-19 and its enforced homeworking for many, although the JIB’s recommendation of this course for Pump Installers, as a route to securing their CSCS Blue Cards will also have helped . Recognising the value Additionally, the sheer number of people who are now seeing the value of this important training course and what it offers to both the individuals concerned and their employers, is a key factor. Interestingly, this interest is not limited to the UK either. There has always been engagement from a handful of students from overseas – primarily from English speaking countries – but these past few months has seen a noticeable increase in non-UK participants, with four students from Australian pump companies alone. Still relevant Steve Smith, operations manager at the BPMA, says: “It is extremely pleasing to see that this course, originally devised by the BPMA, is still so relevant for students worldwide, who are quite possibly new to pumping or just setting out on their career in this exciting and diverse industry of ours.” For further information on this and other training opportunities presented by the experts in pumping technology and solutions, contact Steve Smith at the BPMA on +44 (0)121 601 6691 or by email at s.smith@bpma.org.uk. Alternatively, more details can be found via https://www.bpma-elearning.co.uk/ Pump ‘E-Learning’ enjoys year-on-year growth