Bosch Rexroth Forms Partnership with Kawasaki Heavy Industries
Bosch Rexroth and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. have announced plans to collaborate on the development of next generation off-highway machinery. The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding on March 2 just ahead of the start of CONEXPO-CON/AGG, one of the largest events for the construction equipment industry.
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As part of the collaboration, Bosch Rexroth will bring its expertise in developing hydraulic systems, advanced electronics and software. This will be combined with Kawasaki's expertise in hydraulics hardware and excavator system development to enable the development of more intelligent machine capable of addressing challenges facing construction and other heavy equipment sectors such as:
- enhanced worksite safety,
- autonomous operation,
- seamless data exchange, and
- accelerated transition to more sustainable energy sources.
"By combining our respective competences in the envisaged cooperation, we aim to empower our respective OEM partners to navigate the evolving complexities of advanced hydraulics, electrification, digitalization and changing energy sources with confidence. With the off-highway industry at the cusp of a profound transformation, our planned collaboration can accelerate truly integrated, software-defined solutions for the global excavator market," said Dr. Steffen Haack, CTO of Bosch Rexroth, overseeing Engineering and in charge of this planned cooperation, in Bosch Rexroth's press release announcing the collaboration.
"Kawasaki has always been dedicated to hydraulic innovation, consistently delivering application-specific solutions through robust collaboration with our OEM engineering teams. This planned profound collaboration with Bosch Rexroth significantly broadens our offering into advanced digital and electrified solutions, meeting the rapidly evolving demands of our customers and expanding the value we deliver to our customers in precision hydraulics," said Yoshimoto Matsuda, President of Precision Machinery & Robot Company, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. "Our complementary strengths can enable us to deliver integrated, intelligent, and inherently safer solutions that were previously unattainable, particularly within critical segments like excavators, which account for about half of the construction equipment market."
Collaborations such as this can make it easier to bring new technologies to market faster because both parties are bringing their unique expertise and years of industry knowledge to the development process.
About the Author
Sara Jensen
Executive Editor, Power & Motion
Sara Jensen is executive editor of Power & Motion, directing expanded coverage into the modern fluid power space, as well as mechatronic and smart technologies. She has over 15 years of publishing experience. Prior to Power & Motion she spent 11 years with a trade publication for engineers of heavy-duty equipment, the last 3 of which were as the editor and brand lead. Over the course of her time in the B2B industry, Sara has gained an extensive knowledge of various heavy-duty equipment industries — including construction, agriculture, mining and on-road trucks —along with the systems and market trends which impact them such as fluid power and electronic motion control technologies.
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