Light weight and loads of fun
 NEAT: The Crown Prince shares a laugh with Hydro's Dieter Braun (back left), Ola I. Moen (far right) and BMW's Dr. Ganal. (Photo: Terje S. Knudsen) |
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(May 14, 2002) Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon learned first-hand how BMW - with help from Hydro Aluminium - has built one of the world's elite sports cars.
"I'm glad to see that Germany's cooperation with Norwegian industry works so well, as with Norsk Hydro and BMW," said the 28-year-old prince. "What I have seen today is impressive."
With his wife home in Norway nursing a severe case of sunburn, which apparently occurred last week during the taping of a television interview, Crown Prince Haakon arrived on Monday morning at BMW's test-driving track in Aschheim, near Munich, as part of an official visit to Germany.
He shared his 90-minute visit with nearly 100 representatives of the media - most of them German - as well as a large contingent of BMW personnel. Hydro was represented by Ivar Hafsett, Dieter J. Braun, Ola I. Moen, Hans-Georg Mangold and Thomas Siebenbürger.
After BMW welcomed the Crown Prince, Braun, who is president of Hydro Aluminium's Automotive sector, followed the opening speech with a speech of his own. As his theme, he underlined the long business relationship the two companies have had, a relationship that started in 1975 and has grown to around $100 million in annual turnover.
"They have challenged us and we have challenged them," he said. "It is a strong relationship. BMW is one of our most important customers."
Braun ended the speech by asking Norway's Crown Prince to get to know some of the products Hydro Aluminium delivers to the German luxury carmaker. He and Moen, who heads Customer Management for the Automotive sector, then walked Crown Prince Haakon through a display of seven different lightweight parts and systems, such as the front bumper system for BMW's new 7-series.
The displays included aluminium parts from each of Automotive's three business units - Castings, Precision Tubing and Structures - and also a magnesium-made instrument panel, which Meridian Technologies Inc. manufactures for the BMW Mini. Hydro owns 49 percent of Meridian.
Shortly after getting his hands on the extruded aluminium spaceframe that Hydro produces for the Z8, Crown Prince Haakon moved out to the test track where he got his hands on the wheel of a shiny, black Z8 - and where he learned how the combination of light weight and superior technology has turned it into a classic sports car.
Sitting first in the passenger seat as one of BMW's professional drivers drove faster and faster in circles around the track, Haakon took his turn behind the wheel. And under the blue sky - a Bavarian shade of blue - he raced several 360-degree laps, first one way and then the other. In addition to the roar of the engine, tires squealed.
"The drive was great," he said. "In Norway, we have restrictions. This was fast. I enjoyed it."
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