Vector Informatik

Vector Informatik

Company type	GmbH
Industry	Software
Founded	April 1, 1988
Headquarters	Stuttgart,Germany
Key people	Managing directors Thomas Beck Eberhard Hinderer Martin Litschel Helmut Schelling
Revenue	123 million EUR (2007)
Number of employees	900 (2009)
Website	www.vector.com

Main building of the headquarter of Vector Informatik GmbH

Vector develops software tools and components for networking of electronic systems based on the serial bus systems CAN, LIN, FlexRay, MOST, Ethernet and SAE J1708 as well as on CAN-based protocols such as SAE J1939, SAE J1587, ISO 11783, NMEA 2000, and CANopen. The headquarters of the company Vector Informatik GmbH is in Stuttgart, Germany. Subsidiaries include Braunschweig, Munich, Regensburg along with international subsidiaries in the USA, Japan, France, Sweden, England, South Korea. Vector Informatik also includes Vector Consulting Services GmbH, a consultation firm specializing in optimization of technical product development. Altogether, these companies are referred to as the Vector Group.

In using the term Vector Group, it should be noted that companies with the name Vector exist in completely different business fields as well. They should not be confused with one another.

History

Vector Software GmbH was founded on April 1, 1988 by Eberhard Hinderer, Martin Litschel and Helmut Schelling. In the year 1992, the company changed its name to Vector Informatik GmbH. In the same year, the first CANalyzer license was sold and the company attained sales of one million Euros for the first time. In 1996, the first CANoe and CANape licenses were sold.

In 1998, Vector CANtech (USA) was founded, and in the following year Vector Japan. In 2001, the subsidiary Vector Consulting GmbH was founded, which offers consultation services for engineering development and its cost effectiveness. In 2006, Vector Informatik acquired "Division 4m Software" from Micron Electronic Devices AG. In the same year, sales of the Vector Group exceeded the 100 million Euro mark for the first time. In the following year, Vector Korea was founded, and in 2009 Vector Great Britain. In January 2009, Vector Informatik had over 900 employees worldwide.

Fields of Activity

As mentioned above, Vector handles networking of electronic systems based on the serial bus systems CAN, LIN, FlexRay and MOST as well as CAN-based protocols such as SAE J1939 and CANopen. Electronic control modules in vehicles are clearly the company's focus. However, experience gained in this area has also been applied to other areas such as heavy-duty vehicles, special machines, and embedded systems in general. A selection of press releases provides additional background:

• Diagnostic validation with GM
• AUTOSAR PDUs with FlexRay at AUDI
• Optimizing driver assistance systems at BMW
• XCP-on-FlexRay at Audi
• Efficiency and quality in gear drive calibration at ZF
• Wireless interfacing of development and analysis tools at Bomag AG
• Integrated diagnostic and flash solution for LuK GmbH

Products

Some of the company’s key products are:

• The CANalyzer analysis tool for CAN, FlexRay, LIN and MOST as well as other CAN-based protocols.
• The CANoe development tool with support for simulation, diagnostics and as a test tool for automotive ECUs. Used at most automotive and truck OEMs and suppliers
• Embedded software components for CAN, FlexRay, LIN, CANopen and others. These components can be found on nearly all automobiles with networked electronics throughout the world.