Garrett Motion

Summary

Garrett Motion Inc., formerly Honeywell Transportation Systems and Honeywell Turbo Technologies, is an American company primarily involved in engineering, development and manufacturing of turbochargers and related forced induction systems for ground vehicles from small passenger cars to large trucks and industrial equipment and construction machinery. It originated as part of Garrett AiResearch's Industrial Division in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1954, after which they entered a contract to provide 5,000 turbochargers for the Caterpillar mining vehicle. It manufactured turbochargers for railroads and commercial trucks. The business produced approximately $3.6 billion in revenue in 2021. Garrett Motion is also involved in motorsports providing turbochargers and forced induction systems, solutions and related equipment to racing teams and various forms of automobile racing and professional competitions.[3] In 2004, the business became part of American industrial conglomerate Honeywell International, Inc., as their Transportation Systems division. In 2018, it was spun off to become an independent company under the Garrett Motion name with corporate headquarters in Rolle, Switzerland.

Garrett Motion Inc.
Formerly
  • Honeywell Turbo Technologies
  • Honeywell Transportation Systems
  • Garrett AiResearch's Industrial Division
Company typePublic
Nasdaq: GTX
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1954 as Garrett AiResearch's Industrial Division
2018 as independent company
HeadquartersRolle, Switzerland
Key people
Olivier Rabiller (President and CEO) Daniel Ninivaggi (Chairman of the Board)
ProductsTurbochargers
RevenueIncrease US$3.6 billion (2021)[1]
Increase US $707 million (2021)[1]
Number of employees
7,500 (2021)
Websitewww.garrettmotion.com
Footnotes / references
[2]

History edit

 
Garrett AiResearch formed AiResearch Industrial Division after getting an order to turbocharge 5,000 Caterpillar mining vehicles like the one depicted above.

John Clifford "Cliff" Garrett founded the Aircraft Tool and Supply Company in a one-room office in Los Angeles in 1936.[4][5] In 1938, the company changed its name to Garrett Corporation, consolidating several companies into one with three divisions. The company produced aircraft turbochargers for the war effort in World War II, as well as avionics, environmental controls and other products.[5]

In the 1950s, the city of Los Angeles and other municipalities started using turbochargers in their sewage purification operations. By 1952, 20,000 turbocharged engines were in use in the US.[6] In order to explore applications of turbochargers for diesel engines, Garrett separated the turbocharger group from the gas turbine group on September 27, 1954, to form the AiResearch Industrial Division (AID).[7]

The first T-15 Turbocharger was delivered to the Caterpillar Company in 1955.[8] It was followed by an order for 5,000 production units, to be installed in the Caterpillar D9 tractor.[9][6] The industrial division produced turbochargers for construction machinery, railroad locomotives, tractors, ships, powerplants and oil pipeline pumping stations.[6]

 
The Chevrolet Corvair Monza was one of the first turbocharged passenger vehicles. It was the sports model in the Corvair lineup.

The T11 automotive turbocharger developed in 1960 expanded turbos to commercial vehicles such as the heavy trucks produced by Mack Trucks, Volvo and Scania.[6] The first turbocharged passenger cars were the Chevrolet Corvair Monza and the Oldsmobile Jetfire in 1962/1963. In the 1960s turbochargers were used in race-cars and sports cars, gaining an association with racing culture and auto-enthusiasts.[10] Company founder Cliff Garrett's death in 1963 was followed by a hostile takeover threat by Curtiss-Wright Corporation. To avoid this, Garrett Corporation merged with Signal Oil and Gas Company in 1964.[5] The combined company adopted the name The Signal Companies in 1968[9] before merging with Allied Corporation to become Allied-Signal Inc.

The oil crisis of the 1970s made federal regulators put pressure on car manufacturers to reduce exhaust emissions. By 1977 manufacturers introduced turbocharged cars in the US and Europe like the second generation Buick Regal and LeSabre sports coupe as well as European cars by Volvo, Saab, Peugeot, Renault and Mercedes.[6] In 1978 there were only eight turbocharged car models and seven used Garrett turbochargers.[6] Garrett formed the automotive group in 1980 and by the mid-1980s there were over 100 turbocharged models.[6] Turbochargers became commonplace by the 1990s.[10]

 
Audi R18 TDI, with Garrett turbocharger.

In 1994, Allied-Signal acquired the Lycoming Turbine Engine Division of Textron followed by the sale of the Garrett Aviation Division to General Electric three years later. In 1999, it merged with Honeywell International Inc. and adopted Honeywell as the company name.[5] In 2011, Honeywell sold its automotive Consumer Products Group to Rank Group, a New Zealand private investment firm, for $950 million. This included brands like Fram Filters, Prestone antifreeze and Autolite spark plugs.[11]

In the 2000s Garrett's turbochargers were installed in the engines of the Chevrolet Sonic, Mercedes S 350, Volkswagen Polo, BMW X6 ActiveHybrid, Ford F-350, Volkswagen Golf and Jaguar XF among others.[12][13][14][15][16] In 2010 the company developed 15 new technologies for 100 new engines, including the world's first use of ball bearing technology in a mainstream light vehicle diesel engine.[17] Garrett has developed the world's smallest turbo for the Tata Nano[18][19] as well as for the 100-liter engine of the Caterpillar mining truck.[18][19]

On October 1, 2018, Garrett Motion Inc. became an independent publicly-traded company through a pro rata distribution of Garrett shares to Honeywell's stockholders. Each Honeywell stockholder of record received one share of Garrett common stock for every 10 shares of Honeywell common stock held on the record date. Approximately 74 million shares of Garrett common stock were distributed on October 1, 2018, to Honeywell stockholders.[citation needed]

On September 21, 2020, Garrett Motion announced its intention to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and be acquired by KPS Capital Partners.[20]

In April 2021, Garrett emerged from Chapter 11, completing the restructuring process and implementing the restructuring plan that was confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on April 23, 2021. The company raised 1.3 bln in equity during Chapter 11 restructuring.

Turbo racing edit

The Garrett brand competes in numerous motorsport series and supports sports car racing, drag racing, rally racing, and open-wheel racing. Racing vehicles using a Garrett turbo include:[21]

Year Manufacturer Race OEM/aftermarket performance Notes
1968 Eagle-Offy Indianapolis 500 OEM First turbocharged car to win the Indy 500[22]
1977 Renault Formula One World Championship OEM The first turbocharged engine entered in a Formula One race
1978 Renault-Alpine 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM The Renault Alpine A442B won the race using a Garrett T05 turbocharger
1979 Saab Swedish Rally OEM The Saab 99 Turbo was the first turbocharged car to win a World Rally Championship event, equipped with T03 turbo
1987-1992 Lancia World Rally Manufacturers' Championship OEM The Lancia Delta won six World Championship in a row using Garrett T3 turbo
1988 Nissan International Motorsport Association Championship Aftermarket T04S turbocharger
1994 Toyota Pikes Peak International Hill Climb Aftermarket
2000 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R8 used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2004-2012 Citroën World Rally Championship OEM Sébastien Loeb won nine titles in a row driving for Citroën, equipped with Garrett TR30R and then GTR2560R
2001 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R8 used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2002 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R8 used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2003 Bentley 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Bentley Speed 8 used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2004 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R8 used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2005 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R8 used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2006 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R10 TDI used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2007 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R10 TDI used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2008 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R10 TDI used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2009 Peugeot 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Peugeot 908 HDi FAP used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2010 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R15 TDI LMP1 car was fitted with a custom made Honeywell variable nozzle turbocharger. This turbocharger was made specifically for the race.[23]
2011+ Various World Rally Championship OEM All factory 1.6L WRC rally cars used a Garrett Motorsport turbocharger from 2011 to 2019; Citroën, Ford / M-Sport, Hyundai, Mini / Prodrive, Toyota, Volkswagen.
2011 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R18 TDI was fitted with variable geometry Garrett turbocharger
2011 Citroën World Rally Championship OEM The Citroën DS3 WRC used a Garrett turbocharger[24][25]
2012 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R18 e-tron quattro used a single Garrett Motorsport turbocharger
2013 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R18 e-tron quattro used a single Garrett Motorsport turbocharger
2013 Peugeot Pikes Peak International Hillclimb OEM Record-setting Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak used twin Garrett TR30R Motorsport turbochargers
2014 Audi 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Audi R18 e-tron quattro used a single Garrett Motorsport turbocharger
2015 Porsche 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Porsche 919 Hybrid used a single Garrett Motorsport turbocharger
2016 – 2019 Ford 24 Hours of Le Mans / WEC, IMSA OEM Ford GT with 3.5L EcoBoost V6 used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers, campaigned by Chip Ganassi Racing, winning LMGTE Pro class at Le Mans in 2016, and 18 other races.[26]
2016 Porsche 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Porsche 919 Hybrid used a single Garrett Motorsport turbocharger
2017 Porsche 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Porsche 919 Hybrid used a single Garrett Motorsport turbocharger
2018 Toyota 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Toyota TS050 Hybrid used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers
2019 Audi Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters OEM Garrett Advancing Motion developed a standard turbocharger kit for all DTM cars since 2019
2019 Lexus Super GT GT500 class OEM Garrett Advancing Motion developed a standard turbocharger kit for all Super GT GT500 cars since 2014
2019 Toyota 24 Hours of Le Mans OEM Toyota TS050 Hybrid used twin Garrett Motorsport turbochargers

Technologies and products edit

 
The different types and sizes of Garrett's turbochargers.

Garrett offers gasoline-powered turbochargers called wastegate turbos. They are designed to be smaller than previous turbo generations, have higher fuel efficiency, more torque, and meet emissions standards.[27] Garrett also offers Variable-geometry turbochargers called VNT.[28] They have nine moveable vanes, an electrohydraulic actuator and a proportional solenoid for variable control throughout the engine's power curve.[10][29] This means the air passageway of the turbo varies to meet the engine's needs at different RPMs. Forty million VNT turbochargers have been sold since the 1990s.[30] VNT DutyDrive, previously called Double Axle VNT, uses 12–19 turbine nozzle vanes supported by twin axles for trucks and buses.[31]

Garrett also offers a diesel engine version of wastegate turbos and VNTs.[32] Dual-stage turbochargers use two smaller turbochargers either side-by-side (parallel) or in sequence (serial).[32] The first is used at low speeds and a valve opens up the second as engine RPMs increase. The dual-stage used in the Audi A6/A7 three liter V6 engine however runs both turbochargers at a lower pressure mode and some use one larger turbo followed by a smaller one.[33] The Dualboost has dual compressors to mimic a twin turbocharger.[34]

Patents edit

Garrett Motion has patented a single-cartridge, dual ball bearing technology, which uses a single sleeve system with a set of angular ball bearings on either end. This creates a rolling rather than sliding mechanism between parts intended to reduce the amount of pressure required to achieve airflow.[29][35]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Garrett Motion 2021 Annual Report". Garrett Advancing Motion. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  2. ^ ""Garrett Motion 2021 Annual Report". Garrett Advancing Motion. Retrieved May 20, 2021".
  3. ^ "Products - Turbochargers". garrettmotion.com. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  4. ^ "Built on Thin Air". Time. November 16, 1962. Archived from the original on December 3, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d Leyes, Richard; William Fleming (1999). The History of North American Small Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines. The National Air and Space Museum. ISBN 9781563473326. Retrieved March 5, 2012. {{cite book}}: |newspaper= ignored (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Schoneberger, William; Robert Scholl (1985). Out of Thin Air. Garrett Corporation. pp. 126–131.
  7. ^ Turbo History Archived October 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Honeywell Celebrates 100 Years of Turbo; 50th Year of Garrett Turbocharged Vehicle". Wagner Tech's Mopar Blog. August 2, 2005. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Honeywell Turbo Technologies History page Archived October 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ a b c Patton, David (October 22, 2008). "Honeywell's Adriane Brown On Turbocharging". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  11. ^ "Honeywell Sells Consumer Auto Products Business". DealBook. January 28, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  12. ^ "Honeywell Boosts 2011 Chevrolet Sonic to 40 mpg Fuel Economy" (Press release). Garrett. January 19, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  13. ^ "Garrett Turbo Innovations Launched on High Performing Mercedes, Range Rover Engines" (Press release). Garrett. September 30, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  14. ^ "Honeywell Set to Launch 15 New Turbo Technologies in 2010". Garrett. September 30, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  15. ^ "Volkswagen Selects Honeywell Turbo for New 1.6L Engine" (Press release). Honeywell. November 20, 2011. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  16. ^ "New Garrett Turbo Technology Redefines Efficiency and Performance of Diesel V-Engines" (Press release). Garrett. March 2, 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  17. ^ "Garrett Turbo Technologies Takes on Challenge to Help Shrink Engines" (Press release). Garrett. March 2, 2010. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Tata to launch tiny Nano turbo". Wheels24. January 18, 2011. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  19. ^ a b Shuldiner, Herb (November 1, 2011). "Turbo Penetration Set for Big Boost". WardsAuto. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  20. ^ "Garrett Motion reinforces industry leadership with financial restructuring and sale process - Garrett Motion". garrettmotion.com. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  21. ^ Turbo Evolution Timeline Archived January 8, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Garrett Motion and Indy Cars history". February 11, 2019.
  23. ^ "Le Mans Audi first with hot VG turbo". Automotive Engineer. July 15, 2010. Archived from the original on February 6, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
  24. ^ "2011 FIA Manufacturers' Championship Standings". World Rally Championship. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  25. ^ "Citroën DS3 WRC". Mikko. Archived from the original on April 23, 2012. Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  26. ^ "Ford GT race stint ends after 4 years, 19 wins". Automotive News. October 12, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  27. ^ "Wastegate Turbochargers for Gasoline Engines". garrettmotion.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  28. ^ "Variable Geometry Turbo for Gas Engines". garrettmotion.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  29. ^ a b Blevins, Bryan. "PowerMax Performance Diesel by Garrett Turbochargers". Powermaxturbo.com. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  30. ^ "Garrett of the VNT turbocharger". GCG. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  31. ^ "What is a VNT DutyDrive Turbo?". Garrett Turbo Bulletin. July 29, 2010. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  32. ^ a b "Diesel Turbochargers". garrettmotion.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  33. ^ "New TwoStage module leads Garrett's turbocharger boom". Automotive Engineering Online. October 14, 2011. Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  34. ^ "Dual-Sided Compressor Wheel Turbo". Diesel Progress Online. May 4, 2011. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  35. ^ "Garrett Turbo Technologies". FreshPatents.com. Retrieved December 2, 2011.

External links edit

  • Official website