WARRENDALE, Pa., Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jeff Hemphill, Chief Technical Officer of the Schaeffler Group in North America, is the new Vice President of Automotive for SAE International.

Hemphill was elected to the three-year term by the SAE International general membership and will begin his term on Jan. 1, 2013. He succeeds Mircea Gradu, PhD, Vice President Automotive, Chrysler Group, LLC who served from 2010-2012.

As SAE International's Vice President of Automotive, Hemphill will be responsible for providing leadership and continuity for the Society's automotive initiative and for integrating the needs of the automotive industry in SAE International's standards, events and educational programs.  SAE International also elects vice presidents for its aerospace and commercial-vehicle sectors.

In his current position with the Schaeffler Group, Hemphill is responsible for new product development, analysis and testing of transmission, engine, chassis, and industrial components and systems for conventional and hybrid vehicles as well as consumer products and industrial machine products.

Hemphill has a BSME from The University of Akron, which he earned while working as a machinist and cooperative education student. He also earned an Executive Certificate in Strategy and Innovation from MIT. His product development experience covers 25 years and includes manufacturing engineering, product design, testing, and vehicle development experience and he has more than 70 patents filed or issued. 

Hemphill is a 14-year member of SAE International. He has served on the SAE Clutch Standards Committee. In addition, he has authored and organized various SAE International technical papers, served on meeting panels, presented at SAE International conferences, and participated in and organized sponsorship of SAE International's North American International Powertrain Conference since its inception.

Schaeffler Group

With its product brands INA, LuK and FAG, Schaeffler is a leading provider of rolling and plain bearing solutions, and linear and direct drive technology, as well as a renowned supplier of high-precision products and systems for engines, transmissions and chassis applications to the automotive industry. The global group of companies generated sales of approximately 10.7 billion Euro in 2011. With approximately 74,000 employees worldwide, Schaeffler is one of the largest German and European industrial companies in family ownership. With 180 locations in more than 50 countries, Schaeffler has a worldwide network of manufacturing locations, research and development facilities, sales companies, engineering offices and training centers.

To serve the North American automotive market, Schaeffler operates development centers in: Troy, Mich.; Fort Mill, S.C.; Wooster, Ohio; and Puebla, Mexico. The company's 400 North American engineers and technicians, who are supported by a team of more than 5,500 global engineers, drive development in the region utilizing state-of-the-art test and measurement equipment, computational tools and CAD systems. Schaeffler Automotive has headquarters in Fort Mill and manufacturing facilities in: South Carolina; Missouri; Ohio; Ontario, Canada; Puebla and Irapuato, Mexico. For more information, please visit www.schaeffler.us.

SAE International

SAE International is a global association of more than 133,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development. SAE International's charitable arm is the SAE Foundation, which supports many programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™.

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CONTACT: Shawn Andreassi of SAE International, 1-724-772-8522 or pr@sae.org

SOURCE SAE International