Webasto develops applications for vehicles and distributes the products to automotive customers.

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Webasto – a leading producer of transportation products – has come a long way since its 1901 beginning as a metal coat hanger manufacturer, Marketing and Communications Director Michael Lee says. The company was established in Germany as Wilhelm Baier’s Esslingen Wire and Ironware Factory; it moved to Stockdorf in 1908 and continued business under its current name. In the early years, the company’s product line expanded to include other metal-formed products, such as children’s high chairs, mousetraps, utensils, and bicycle parts and accessories.    

In the 1930s, Webasto invented the automotive heater, which was an air-to-air system based off exhaustive gas. “Shortly thereafter, we were approached by a bus tour company in Austria that wanted to cut a big hole in the bus so that during the tour of the Alps, [the tourists] could look up and see the Alps,” Lee explains. It was the first application of the sunroof, and in 1937, Daimler approached the company to mass-produce the first automotive sunroof.    

The company has a strong reputation as a leading producer of sunroofs, heating systems and other transportation products. “Given those humble beginnings, Webasto is the leader of sunroofs and sunroof systems, as well as parking heater systems,” Lee states.   

From its Fenton, Mich., headquarters, the company develops applications for vehicles and distributes the products to a large network of authorized automotive customizers and re-stylers. Lee says the company focuses on two arenas: moveable systems and HVAC, which includes fuel-operated heaters and thermal-energy storage.

Heating Up
In the decades following the invention of the automotive heating system, Webasto continued to improve the technology. The systems are now most commonly used in commercial vehicle and bus segments because the technology allows vehicles to be parked and heated without running or idling the engine, which reduces the negative effect on the environment. Webasto heaters also are used in ambulances, which have “interesting needs, because they must always have a warm cabin because passengers, equipment, medication and drugs have to be kept at a certain temperature,” Lee explains.  

Webasto’s anti-idling technology uses one-tenth of a gallon of gasoline per hour to run and heat a vehicle, compared to one gallon without the technology. The systems are helpful when truckers are sitting at a rest stop and running the truck while keeping warm, Lee says, adding that the systems pay for themselves in four to six months. “We think that’s pretty cool,” he states. “That’s one of the reasons why we have really large fleet customers [of 18,000 vehicles
or more].”  

In 2008, the company’s technology earned it the North America
Anti-Idling Systems Technology Innovation Leadership of the Year Award from international marketing firm Frost and Sullivan. “We’re very proud of this award,” Lee says.    

Webasto also is innovating in the cooling sector. “We continue to innovate in the thermomanagement system space,” Lee explains. “We recently developed and launched cold storage core technology. Instead of heating a product, it allows you to cool using no electric energy.   

“Our cooling-core technology was a big achievement in our ability to reduce idling and, therefore, reduce energy usage as well as improve environmental conditions,” Lee says.

Market Solutions
Like any company today, Webasto is dealing with the financial downturn, but Lee says the company is in a different situation. “We provide a solution that helps our customers save money,” he says.    

“There isn’t a company today that isn’t taking a very close look at their expenses, and we know we have technologies and solutions for them. We’re working to make sure people are aware.”   

Inherent in its heating and cooling products is an environmental benefit – less fuel use and reduced harmful emissions, Lee says, and Webasto is focused on promoting that message. The company is looking for ways to help municipalities meet air quality commitments and is developing programs to help large cities meet their environmental initiatives.    

Webasto’s history as the first manufacturer of the automotive heater is an important ingredient in the company’s success, he adds. “We invented the product, so our expertise and our history of being the leader go a long way,” he explains. “If [a customer is] going to go with someone, going with the global leader is a pretty good place to start. No matter how hard they try, competitors can’t match our longevity and history in the marketplace.”   

Although the economy is slumping, Webasto is continuing to focus on employee training. “It’s unfortunate that when times get tough, a lot of times the first thing to go is the training budget,” Lee says. “With Webasto being a large company, we have ongoing programs [that] take advantage
of our global depth and that our engineers, as well as our non-technical people, go through.”