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ZF Group’s expanse of operation includes a majority stake in automotive trans- missions and driveline systems, which offer some cutting edge technolo- gies that could someday, in some way, prove compelling in the marine mar- ket. For example, ZF now offers GPS based transmission technology. Martin Meissner, Marketing and Communica- tions Manager for North America, In- dustrial Technology division, ZF Group, explains. “The car knows where it is in the world, what road it’s on, the gradient of the road and upcoming curves, for ex- ample. We offer products where if you are on a windy, hilly road with an auto- matic transmission from ZF, and you’re coming up to a corner for example, the transmission’s not going to change gears because it knows that you’re going to be off the gas through the corner, and then back on the gas. It is going to wait to shift until you’re through the corner. Or when you are coming up to a hill, it’s will drop a gear down in anticipation that you are going to be climbing the hill. So now you’ve got other divisions of ZF ad- vancing that technology in the automo- tive, heavy truck and bus sector, and the door is open for technology share. So when we see examp=les of next genera- tion technology solutions, we can go to these other divisions and say, ‘Show us this technology, because we think we have an opportunity to adapt it to the marine market.’” And as conservative as the marine market has traditionally been, it is not averse to technology change if improved ef? ciency, reduced downtime and lower operating costs can be proven. American Commercial Lines (ACL) has proven this, as it is becoming a lead- er on the inland waterways incorporating Z-Drives, starting earlier this year when it took delivery of The American Way in February 2014. “Two boats have been received (American Way and American Spirit), two are under construction and four are on order,” said an ACL com- pany spokesperson. “All eight boats are 2,000 HP with ZF 5000 units.” In making the decision to add Z-Drive boats to the ACL ? eet, the company cited improved performance, reduced operat- ing costs, replacement of older boats and the addition of boats for business growth as the primary factors. At the same time, the company weighed the drawbacks, which it says includes the initial cost for spare parts, limited service coverage due to the technology being new, and addi- tional training needs. While the jury is still out on the long-term cost bene? ts of the Z-Drive boats, early results are prom- ising. “Analysis shows a ~20% improve- ment in fuel burn or performance when ran hard,” said an ACL company spokes- person. “It remains unclear whether Z- drive boats are more cost ef? cient than conventional drive boats with regard to maintaining the Z drive unit vs. shafts, gearbox, wheels and rudders. Time will tell.” The ZF Group is a leading supplier of transmission and driveline technology. This image shows the current scope of supply available to car manufacturers around the world. WORKBOAT ANNUAL Lessons from Automotive Applied to Marine 56 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • NOVEMBER 2014 Image: ZF MR #11 (50-57).indd 56 10/30/2014 9:45:10 AM
