This week, you’ll find:
• An exclusive interview with AL’s head of R&D
Kamislav Fadel is now the head of AL-Automotive Lighting. He relates his former jobs at Valeo and Renault and presents his challenges and successes at AL.
Kamislav then explains how he can manage proliferation of new cars with multiple lighting variants per car and explains how AL succeeded in the development and production of the Audi R8’s LED headlamp.
He finishes the interview with commentary on dealing with the accelerating rate and pace of technological change.
• A fully detailed AL profile.
The author relates the history of AL, presents the company with their 12 000 people across 16 worldwide sites and since 2004 a double-digit growth sales to €1.6bn in 2007.
There’s a detailed account of how AL, after suffering image problems after separation from Bosch in 2004, have in just a few years become one of the key car lighting suppliers by dint of a strategy based on innovation, on a worldwide extension and on qualified and motivated employees. He explains how the mixture between Mediterranean approach and German culture combined with a stable management and a high-class R&D team gives excellent results and a strong image of technology.
Next week, for the first time, an in-depth analysis of the Mercedes C-Class headlamp.
The analysis of Mercedes C Class headlamp shows that innovations can be about styling and perceived quality rather than performance.
3 models for the same car are presented:
– Halogen
– Xenon
– AFS