Krupp Compa Arcuri S.A. of Sibiu, Romania, recently commenced volume production of parabolic springs for DaimlerChrysler, adding this weight-reduced leaf spring variant with high load-bearing capacity and improved suspension comfort to a range which already included conventional leaf or trapezoidal springs.

With their rolled leaves and stress-peened surfaces, parabolic springs are up to 40 percent lighter than trapezoidal springs. While delivering the same load-bearing capacity, the spring assembly is considerably lower in height than conventional leaf springs. As well as increasing payload by cutting weight, parabolic springs also offer greater comfort, in part thanks to the lower internal friction in the spring assembly.

Established in 1998, this subsidiary of Krupp Hoesch Federn GmbH initially manufactured coil springs for the Romanian car market and trapezoidal springs both for the domestic market and for export. Last year the company invested in the rolling and stress peening facilities required to produce parabolic springs. Krupp Compa Arcuri is now turning out 9,000 tons of leaf springs on this new equipment, with the long-term target set at 25,000 tons per year. In addition the company covers domestic demand for one million coil springs per year.

Krupp Hoesch Federn GmbH, part of the Systems/Suspensions unit of ThyssenKrupp Automotive, has 15 production sites in nine countries, including the USA, Mexico, Brazil and China. The company manufactures some 37 million coil springs, around 12 million torsion and stabilizer bars and approx. 38,000 tonnes of leaf springs per year.