Hatz, Robin Subaru to cooperate on small diesels

Diesel Progress North American Edition, Oct, 2004

German industrial diesel builder Motorenfabrik Hatz GmbH and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI) d Japan have signed a cooperation agreement under which Hatz will supply up to 20,000 single-cylinder engines per year to Fuji's small engine subsidiary, Robin Subaru. At 1.2 million engines per year, Robin Subaru is considered to be among the top five manufacturers of industrial engines worldwide.

The background to the cooperation is the strategic decision by Robin Subaru to concentrate on its core business of building small industrial gasoline engines and packaging its own pump and generator sets. As a result, the company will discontinue production of its own DY series diesels and replace them in its sales program with the Hatz B Series single-cylinder engines. By this change, urgently needed capacity in both production facilities and the development of emissions-compliant gasoline engines will be freed up in Japan, Robin Subaru reported.

The project was won against European competition, noted Horst Dekena, Hatz managing director. "Undoubtedly, the perceived high quality of our products was a decisive factor, and it was a very positive experience to confirm that we can still be extremely competitive in Far Eastern markets with German built small diesels," he said. "Robin Subaru is also very impressed with our well-established, dense network of sales and service outlets in Europe, as well as our excellent contacts to the European construction equipment industry.

"For our part, we see the cooperation as a unique opportunity to benefit from unlimited access to Robin Subaru's excellent infrastructure in Southeast Asia."

Dekena also considered the new cooperation a further step in diversifying the company's offering and enhancing its position. "Over the past years we have built up a considerable presence in the supply of high-end connecting rods to the engine industry," Dekena said. "We count a number of leading European car manufacturers among our customer base.

"Now, the cooperation with Robin Subaru will lead to a significant extension of engine production at our works in Ruhstorf an der Rott, near Passau. This will lead both to a welcome reduction in our cost base as well as securing existing jobs and creating new jobs in the Lower Bavaria region."

Hatz feels the new collaboration fully vindicates its decision to develop the B Series diesels, whose smaller versions took the company for the first time into the applications of very low displacement single-cylinder diesels.

The engines concerned are the 1B20, 1B30 and 1B40 single-cylinder diesels. With displacements of 232 cc (bore 69 x stroke 62 mm) and 321 cc (bore 77 x stroke 69 mm) and 462 cc cover a power range of approximately 4 to 10.3 hp at rated speeds up to 3600 rpm. As well as standard horizontal crankshaft versions, Hatz B Series engines are also offered in vertical crankshaft (V suffix) versions, well suited to certain types of construction, agricultural and horticultural equipment. They are also designed to operate at severe tilt angles--Hatz quotes 30[degrees] from the horizontal in any direction.

All the models in the Hatz B Series meet the applicable EU and U.S. EPA emissions standards and are also scheduled to meet the voluntary emission control guidelines set forth by the Japan Land Engine Manufacturers' Association, which are slated to take effect in 2006.

Typical applications for the engines include slitters, vibrators, tampers, high pressure cleaners and generator sets on the construction equipment side and self propelled mowers, water pumps, soil and snow tillers and small market gardening and municipal equipment on the agricultural/horticultural side.

The agreement between FHI and Hatz grants FHI exclusive rights to market the Hatz B series engines only under the Robin Subaru brand name and other single- and multi-cylinder diesel engines manufactured by Hatz in Japan and Asia. This arrangement is expected to strengthen FHI's diesel engine lineup for a wider variety of industrial machinery customers, as well as those in the construction trades, and enable FHI's diesel model lineup to complement its wide range of gasoline models.

David Priestley, vice president and general manager of Hatz Diesel of America Inc., Waukesha, Wis., said that Robin America Inc., based in Wood Dale, Ill., would only be importing their finished water pumps and generators into the U.S. market, and that "we will be available to assist them as and when they may require it."

"This will be placing more Hatz engines into operation," Priestley said, "and that will benefit both Hatz and Robin Subaru."