Technologies to Create Smarter Structures For Vehicles

Metalsa designs and manufactures structural solutions for the mobility industry (light & commercial vehicles), including highly engineered chassis frames for pick-up trucks, which provide body-on-frame vehicles with towing, loading and off-roading capabilities and side rails for heavy trucks made to contribute with their durability and strength to carry high loads.

To empower users to make better decisions, Metalsa is looking for collaboration partners to propose technologies able to detect and report different variables and to provide crucial data from the vehicles to their user in order to inform, alert and record about the usage of their vehicle.

The ability to provide live feedback of the conditions of the chassis structure will minimize the cost of repairs and maintenance and will serve the user with a better sense on how to maximize the life span of the vehicle.

This is an electronic Request-for-Partners (eRFP) Challenge; the Solver will only need to submit a written proposal to be evaluated by the Seeker with the goal of establishing a collaborative partnership.

New mobility trends such as the electrification and autonomy of vehicles open opportunities to the use of live data as a way to provide and improve products properties and capabilities. Metalsa wants to include technologies that enable data harvest to improve its current product portfolio and provide additional services to its customers.

During the lifetime of a body-on-frame vehicle, the chassis frame is exposed to vibration, torsion, bending and other conditions which may affect the structure’s properties under certain conditions. By serving the user with accurate live information, vehicle-owners will have the opportunity to promptly respond to the potentially hazardous circumstances and extend the lifespan of their vehicle.

The constraints for these technologies within the vehicle structure are related to their dimensions and weight. Although all technologies may be considered, those that may be embedded or attached into the structure will have a higher probability of being used and tested.

This is an electronic Request-for-Partners (eRFP) Challenge. The Solver will write a preliminary proposal (about 2-4 pages, including supporting non-confidential information and contact details) to be evaluated by the Seeker with a goal of establishing a collaborative partnership. Upon completion of the evaluation, the Seeker may contact selected Solvers directly to work out terms for a collaboration contract. The monetary value of the contract will vary depending on the amount of work to be delivered and the agreed upon time frame.

[NOTE: Only proposals from Solvers who have the ability to work as the collaboration partner will be considered.]

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on April 23, 2020. 

Late submissions will not be considered.

ABOUT THE SEEKER

Metalsa is a private company and a subsidiary of Proeza Group. We manufacture tier 1 and tier 2 structural components for the light and commercial vehicle markets. Our portfolio includes light duty frames, space frames, suspension modules, body structures, safety systems, transmission modules and fuel tanks for light vehicles as well as chassis frames, side rails and cross members of heavy trucks and buses.

Our culture is a strong asset to foster collaboration and communication in order to support efficient decision-making processes. We continually strive to eliminate barriers of collaboration and seek for human development and the well-being of our communities. We create a multicultural team who provide Metalsa the opportunity to offer solutions to the customer with a strategically global perspective.