Like I do every two or three years, I recently visited the ZKW facilities in Wieselburg, meeting R&D VIPs including the Chief Technical Officer, Dr. Ralf Klädtke. I was impressed by the research projects they are working on: ADB as pixel, micromatrix, DMD, laser scanner...and also on other technologies like holograms, 3D, MLA, pedestrian detection, and now rear lights with the arrival of LG and their OLED expertise.

I considered ZKW as a technological company making products for premium cars but always with technologies developped by one of the Big four—AL, Hella, Koito, or Valeo. That is no longer the case. This week, we've got an in-depth article following this editorial on ZKW's current activities, including an exclusive interview with Ralf Klädtke, Vice Chairman and CTO. He's not a lighting expert like his predecessor Jürgen Antonisch was, but totally involved in the lighting technologies and their development, with a clear view of the strategy and how to achieve it. ZKW being now part of the LG Group with 240 000 employees globally and over USD $143bn revenue, has free access to an outstanding technology base and highly capable products that will support ZKW in further growth. Ralf Klädtke shared his unique perspective and intriguing plans with me and now we share it with you, the DVN community.

Don't forget about the two important events coming up soon:

• VISION congress in Paris on 9-10 October with 33 lectures, a keynote by Valeo CEO Jacques Ascenbroich, night demo-drives with around 30 cars, and extensive expo and networking
•  DVN's lidar conference in Frankfurt, organised for the first time to explore and exploit the possibilities brought forth by the integration of lidar in the headlamps and rear lamps. For more information on this event, follow this link.

Sincerely yours

DVN President