15/07/2020 | Press release

Rheinmetall to supply divert-air valves to South Korean automaker

The Automotive arm of the Düsseldorf-based technology group Rheinmetall has won a strategically important order for divert-air valves, which are used in exhaust gas turbochargers for vehicles powered by internal combustion engines or hybrid drives. Rheinmetall subsidiary Pierburg GmbH will now serve as the principal supplier of the component for the complete global range of engines produced by a well-known South Korean manufacturer.

Now booked, the order has a lifetime volume of over €30 million. It resulted not least from the high quality the customer has experienced in an existing contract with Pierburg covering 25 percent of the automaker’s total requirement, which has fostered a strong relationship between supplier and customer.

Production of the components – the fifth generation of these solenoid valves – begins in 2021. They will be produced at Pierburg plants in Neuss, Germany and Kunshan, China, and shipped directly to the customer in South Korea.

Having entered the field of turbo-based divert-air valve technology in 2005, today Pierburg is far and away the global market leader in this segment. In the meantime, numerous international companies turn to Pierburg for this product, including all of the major global automakers as well as prominent turbocharger producers. In China alone, forty manufacturers now source their divert-air valves from Pierburg.

Following a change in load in turbocharged engines, divert-air valves ensure that there is no turbo lag and that the vehicle can accelerate again without delay.