This
suggests that following the departure of former chief executive, Dick Elsy,
Deering’s arrival will herald an emphatic change of direction; one that aims to steer the
business in a direction that will bring returns more quickly than before.
With a
period-end cash balance of £10.7 million, Deering said Torotrak would now “put
its hands in its pockets” to push forward more aggressively a number of its
programmes.
Torotrak has
three main product areas: infinitely variable transmissions (IVTs), MKERS or
mechanical energy recovery systems and V-Charge, an induction boost system. Together
the value of the latter two lines is roughly equivalent to that of the IVT
business, according to Deering. At the
moment IVTs are directed principally at commercial vehicles and off-highway
applications.
On the V-charge
front, Deering expects to spread the technology across four platforms, from
small cars like the Renault Clio, into sports utility vehicles (SUVs) with
1.6-litre engines, premium vehicles that might require a two-stage device, and
one other.
The aim is
to build more prototypes and develop simulation tools with the aim of spreading
wider an understanding of the performance and economy benefits. There is an aim too to break the supply route
issue: OEMs trying out the system want to know if there is a Tier 1 supplier standing
in the wings; and Tier 1 suppliers want to know if Torotrak has an OEM customer
lined up.
To achieve
this Torotrak is looking at a ‘shared-manufacture production route’ where large
numbers (up to 20,000) of V-Charge systems can be built.
On MKERS, Torotrak hopes to have a system in a
vehicle ion 2013. This most likely will be a bus and based on a flywheel system
linked to an IVT. On KERS, Torotrak has been working with both Ricardo plc and
Flybrid Automotive Ltd. Both of these companies have a different approach to KERS and
Torotrak claims to enjoy a good relationship with each.
From this it
would seem that Torotrak has focused on buses as the most likely way forward,
at least in the short term. Certainly, Torotrak engineers are taking a much
deeper interest in bus applications than previously as they discuss the potential with
operators.
The third
leg of the Torotrak stool remains the IVT and in this respect heavy vehicles
offer greatest potential for growth. Here, high fuel costs and high torque
requirements point firmly in the direction of IVT.
In this respect,
the next major commercial vehicle milestone will occur in the first quarter of
the 2013 calendar year, though Deering will not say what is this milestone.
Licencing
will remain a layer of value to Torotrak, but not one on which business growth
depends; this suggests Deering will aim Torotrak to develop its capability to
supply products that contain its core technologies, and boost its advanced engineering
services.
At the same
time, as the brief of engineers is widened, new transmission technologies could emerge and yet reinforce
the company’s basic ethos. ∎
