Bengt Palmér receives honorary doctoral degree

Bengt Palmér receives honorary doctoral degree for supporting co-operation between Scania and KTH An honorary doctoral degree was conferred on Scania's former Chief Technical Officer Bengt Palmér at KTH, Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology. He was awarded his degree for developing and deepening co-operation between Scania and KTH since the 1970s. Bengt Palmér, 63 years old and retired from Scania, received his degree at a ceremony at Stockholm City Hall on 12 November. KTH writes in its motivation that Bengt Palmér has worked untiringly over the years to further contacts between Scania and KTH. "Bengt Palmér has been instrumental in securing several major Scania donations for KTH; donations that, over many years, have helped finance the work of a large number of graduate students. Bengt Palmér has an invaluable ability to listen attentively and to take a holistic view before implementing his visions. This approach has resulted in closely-knit co-ordination and integration of design and production operations," notes the KTH motivation. Bengt Palmér is now an honorary graduate in mechanical and machine technology. He is a member of the board for vehicle technology, and a member of the KTH industry and commerce board. Over the years, he became a well-known profile at Scania, gaining a position on the company executive management and using his skills and influence to further co-operation between Scania and KTH. He regards his newly won degree as "a highly-appreciated honour". "My main concern has been to implement and develop contacts between Scania and KTH with dedication and with unwavering determination. I am convinced that Sweden stands to gain a lot from co-operation between industry and commerce, on the one hand, and colleges and universities on the other. For example, technology students are offered summer jobs and the chance to do their final- year theses at Scania. It is vital for their competence and development that they have the opportunity to see just how things are done in the industry, right there on the shop floor," he explains. At Scania, co-operation with KTH and other technical colleges is given high priority. The technological content in Scania's products has increased sharply in recent years. Scania's production too is undergoing constant development through a steady process of research and technical innovation. Since 1996, Scania has provided an industrial research programme in which graduate students from various technical colleges have been hired to continue their research within the company. In 1961, Bengt Palmér received his graduate engineer's degree from the Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, specialising in marine and machine technology. He started working for Scania in Södertälje as an engineer in 1964. Since then he has been Technical Director of Scania do Brasil, Technical Manager of Scania's bus operations in Katrineholm, Director of Engine and Transmission Development both for Scania and for Saab's car- production operations, and finally as Chief Technical officer at Scania. He retired from Scania in 1996 but remains active in a number of spheres. In addition to his involvement with KTH, he undertakes various assignments on behalf of research and development institute IVF, standardisation organ SMS and the Royal Swedish Scientific Academy, the IVA. In this latter capacity, he is deeply involved in the government's "Technology Foresight" project. In this forum, Bengt Palmér and his team work with projected visions of production systems and industrial engineering in the year 2015. A photograph of Bengt Palmér can be downloaded from the Scania homepage, www.scania.com, under "Media services". For more information, please contact: Bengt Palmér, tel. +46 8-550 972 53 Anita Bohlin, Scania, tel. +46 8-553 852 75 /Caption/ Bengt Palmér, Scania's former Chief Technical officer, received an honorary doctor's degree on 12 November at a ceremony at Stockholm City Hall. He received his traditional doctor's hat, ring and diploma for his work in promoting co-operation between Scania and KTH. Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 23,500 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 1998, turnover totalled SEK 45,300 million and income after financial items SEK 3,200 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and approximately 96 percent of total production is sold outside Sweden. Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/11/18/19991118BIT00480/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/11/18/19991118BIT00480/bit0002.pdf