"Our aim is to also achieve a leading position in the market for sophisticated chassis solutions for commercial vehicles, buses and railway vehicles," says HÜBNER General Manager Helge Förster, responsible for the Mobility business sector. HÜBNER is already active in this segment with the "Hemscheidt Fahrwerktechnik" group of companies, which develops and produces chassis systems at two locations in Germany – in Haan close to Düsseldorf and in Feucht adjacent to Nuremberg.
VSE: Development specialists for electrohydraulic systems
V.S.E. Vehicle Systems Engineering B.V with headquarters in Veenendaal close to Utrecht was founded in 2001 with the goal of developing electrohydraulic steering and suspension systems for the vehicle industry. The systems are used particularly to equip vehicles so that they can successfully navigate difficult terrains. In the past years more than 50,000 vehicles in Europe have been equipped with components from VSE Last year the company, which employs more than 50 software and technology specialists, had revenues of approximately 14 million EUR with its product portfolio.
Welcoming the merger, Dick Lodder, Managing Director of VSE, commented: "With HÜBNER we are pleased to have found a partner that recognizes the potential of our expertise, can offer us wider access to the market and wants to grow together with us." The company was part of the the Weber-Hydraulik Group starting in 2014. The acquisition by HÜBNER takes effect retroactively from 1 January 2021. Both parties have agreed not to disclose any information regarding the purchase price.
Growing expectations for chassis solutions
Together with VSE, HÜBNER wants to make progress with software development for steering systems. "We are seeing that the bus industry has increasingly demanding expectations regarding chassis and steering systems," explains Mark Wöhrmann, Managing Director of Hemscheidt Fahrwerktechnik and head of the HÜBNER business unit Chassis Technology. "With the experts at VSE we can develop a technological edge in the area of hydropneumatics and expand that with steering systems." With the VSE Smart Steering System for self-steering axles, the Dutch company brought a new concept to the market in 2019 that is currently unrivaled in its performance.
