Large investments in R & D – a continuous process - Scherdel GmbH

RESEARCH
Staff profile
We'd like to introduce staff members
to you who will act as your
contact if required.
Research creates a good k
SCHERDEL develops standards and specifications
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - TECHNOLOGY & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT - NEWS AND INFORMATION
10
Werner Schelter, Master of
Business Administration and
Head of the Finance Department
Mr Werner Schelter was born in
Wunsiedel in 1956. After obtaining
his A levels he studied business
economics at Bayreuth, his special
subjects being financial management
and banking, as well as taxation
and auditing. As a Master of
Business Administration he began
working as an assistant auditor for
a medium-sized firm of chartered
accountants and tax consultants.
In connection with this activity,
Mr Schelter already undertook the
task of drawing up and auditing
the annual financial statements
and tax returns of the
SCHERDELGroup.
After a few years he moved to
another job, this time to “Stahl-und
Drahtwerk Röslau” where he was
employed for some time as Head
of the Accounting Department. On
the first of July, 1996, Mr Schelter
then moved to the SCHERDEL-
Group where he took on the
post of Head of the Department
responsible for Bookkeeping,
Finance and Annual Statements.
His work is mainly concerned with
drawing up the annual financial
statements and tax returns, and
dealing with external audits. In addition,
he is also responsible for
the financial management of the
whole Group, the insurance
arrangements, the company
pension scheme and the employee
share scheme.
Mr Schelter is married and has
three grown-up children. He devotes
his leisure time to his family
and his hobbies: literature and
cooking.
R
esearch and development work
plays a very important part in the
SCHERDELGroup, which has a department
specially devoted to all the activities
connected with this field. Here it is
noticeable that in recent years the number
of projects and investigations has
risen steadily. The following describes
the main tasks involved in research and
development work. In the next edition
of SCHERDELnews the second part of
this article will tell you about the most
interesting technical facilities in this Department.
Tensile tests carried out on receipt of new materials
One of the most important tasks in relation
to R & D work is the development
of materials, processes and measuring
techniques, as well as the provision of
the technical know-how for the whole
SCHERDELGroup. The central laboratory
is responsible for the examination
of materials and components. In the
measuring and testing shop, fatigue
tests and measurements relating to the
dynamic behaviour of springs are carried
out. The staff of the R & D Department
are also in charge of the organization
of both internal and external
training courses. They are also involved
to a great extent in assisting students
with projects relating to their studies, or
with their dissertation, Bachelor's or
Master's thesis. They also help pupils
with work concerning technical projects
and a wide range of technical services
is available for external customers. A
great deal of time is also devoted to
participation in external research projects.
Here, SCHERDEL is also active
as a research partner and as a member
of committees accompanying projects.
In addition to supporting the whole
Group with regard to applications for
subsidies, the R & D Department is also
involved in work relating to standardization.
It produces its own technical
publications as well as collecting technical
information to extend its store of
knowledge.
The development of materials also includes
the setting up of new supply
chains in order to be able to offer extremely
strong valve-spring wires, for
example, or by altering the materials to
provide more efficient components with
an improved design for new types of
applications. One technical process
used here, for example, is the thermal
treatment of valve springs to improve
a component's characteristics.
SCHERDEL is constantly on the lookout
for wires and metal strips which offer
an improved resistance to extreme
stress such as high temperatures or
corrosive environments. With this in
view, the Group develops its own standards
and delivery requirements.
Process development is concerned with
the fields of metal working, joining techniques,
metal cutting, thermal treatment
using lasers for example, shot peening
and the protection of springs against
corrosion using various surface treatments
or coatings. Development work
relating to measuring techniques focuses
on measurements of stress, force
and valve train carried out on a testing
stand driven by an electromotor; on
carrying out fatigue tests and producing
fatigue-strength diagrams; on further
developing spring scales; and on dealing
with various metrological problems.
Failure analysis using the scanning electron
microscope