Zf Padova News

ZF Friedrichshafen AG is celebrating its centennial in 2015. Founded in the city of Friedrichshafen at Lake Constance in 1915 as “Zahnradfabrik GmbH,” the company developed from an aviation specialist with regional roots to an international technology company active on the global mobility markets, including maritime. MR recently visited with Daniel Härter, Vice President Industrial Technology, Head of Business Unit Marine Propulsion Systems, who took over responsibility for ZF Marine as of September 1, 2014. ZF is obviously large and diverse across many markets.

Federico Decio has assumed the role of product line manager for the pleasure craft business of ZF Marine Propulsion Systems, effective June 1, 2015. He is based out of ZF Marine’s headquarters in Padova, Italy. Decio joined ZF in 2014 as operations manager for the ZF Padova srl plants in Padova and Arco. With a Bachelor’s degree in engineering management, Decio began his career as a consultant, gaining experience in project management and business processes. Further, he developed…

The new ZF 9000 Series transmissions from ZF Marine are the latest in a long history of industry leading marine transmissions designed to handle the demands of high-power engines. With its design flexibility, the ZF 9000 Series is suited for any vessel – including patrol craft, fast ferries, and luxury yachts – that require compact, lightweight, high-performance propulsion. The series is available in several configurations, including parallel offset (vertical or horizontal), down-angle, and V-drive, and offers ratios of approximately 1.5 to 5.2.

Consolidation of manufacturing and service entities is perhaps the world's worst kept secret. Marine propulsion manufacturers, in particular, have been rapidly consolidating companies, lines and capabilities in order to broaden their organizations to be truly global, while filling any holes in the power range along the way. ZF, a renowned maker of marine transmissions, has done this and more in becoming a single source propulsion supplier. The expansion of the product line includes a complete propulsion systems was part of ZF Marine's strategic plan established in January 1999. It has now become a reality, with the founding of the Propulsion Systems division, based at ZF Padova.

Michel Fétiveau took over the position of General Manager at ZF Masson in Saint Denis les Sens, France, replacing Francesco di Paola who has retired after many years’ service with ZF Masson and ZF Padova. Fétiveau started his professional career in 1982 after a graduating in mechanical engineering with bias towards internal combustion engine design. His first years were spent in the R&D department of Lucas Diesel Systems (now Delphi Diesel Systems) as application engineer concerned with fuel injection systems for heavy duty applications such as farm tractors, trucks and power generators. In 1988, he moved to the commercial department of Lucas Diesel Systems to develop new customers in the growing market of Diesel engines for cars.