Develops and manufactures climate compressors and thermal management systems and offers testing services
Sanden International (Europe) GmbH
Bad Nauheim (DE) · Tinteniac (FR) · Polkowice (PL) · Basingstoke (GB) · Madrid (ES) · Isesaki (JP)New on Amplifa
About Sanden Europe
Sanden International (Europe) GmbH (SIE), headquartered in Bad Nauheim, is the European subsidiary of Japan's Sanden Corporation, a provider of thermal management and air-conditioning technology for automobiles. The portfolio comprises mechanical and electric climate compressors (including scroll and swash-plate designs), HVAC units, electric coolant heaters, heat pump and thermal management systems, as well as compact refrigeration units for passenger and commercial vehicles. In addition to sales and technical development, the company offers contract R&D and testing services: a climatic wind tunnel (-40 °C to +50 °C, solar simulation, dyno up to 160 km/h), vehicle and component NVH testing, compressor test benches for HFO, R744 and R290, EMC testing to CISPR 25/ISO 11452, and system tests for HVAC, heaters and heat exchangers. Manufacturing in Europe is carried out by the subsidiaries Sanden Manufacturing Europe S.A.S. (France) and Sanden Manufacturing Poland sp. z o.o. (Polkowice). Customers include European OEMs, among them Volvo Cars, which awarded Sanden the 2025 Quality Excellence Award with the maximum score.
- Site
- Bad Nauheim
- Processes
- Climatic wind tunnel testing, Climatic wind tunnel: temperature range -40°C to +50°C, humidity 5–95% RH, solar simulation up to, Vehicle NVH testing (vehicle acoustic chamber), Charging under various climatic conditions (up to 400kW DC), Thermal comfort measurements with thermal manikins (battery thermal management), Compressor testing (function and endurance tests, HFO, R744, R290), System and component testing (HVAC, electric heaters, heat exchangers, full loop; HIL from 2026), Contract research & development including test services
- Materials
- Climatic Wind Tunnel Testing, NVH Testing, EMC Testing, Compressor Test Benches, Charging Tests under Climatic Conditions
- Certificates
- Volvo Cars Quality Excellence Award 2025 (VQE)
- Founded
- 1943
- Employees
- 4971
- Industries
- Automotive (Passenger Cars), Commercial Vehicles, Electromobility / BEV, Heat Pump Systems, Aftermarket
- 01
Engineering & Contract R&D
- 02
Component and System Development
- 03
Manufacturing (France, Poland)
- 04
Testing & Validation (Wind Tunnel, NVH, EMC, Compressor Test Benches)
- 05
Sales & Aftermarket
Processes & Test Technologies
Climatic Wind Tunnel Testing
Vehicle testing from -40 °C to +50 °C, humidity 5–95 % RH, solar simulation up to 1.2 kW/m², dyno up to 160 km/h.
NVH Testing
Vehicle and component NVH in an acoustic chamber, including modal analysis, ISO 3744 and CAE correlation.
EMC Testing
Emissions 10 Hz–18 GHz and immunity 100 kHz–6 GHz to CISPR 25 and ISO 11452 respectively.
Compressor Test Benches
Function and endurance tests for refrigerants HFO, R744 and R290.
Charging Tests under Climatic Conditions
E-charging tests up to 400 kW DC including digital twin and thermal comfort measurements with thermal manikins.
Locations
Bad Nauheim
DEEuropean headquarters: Sales & Marketing, Technical Development, Test Services
- Climatic wind tunnel
- Vehicle acoustic chamber
- Compressor test benches
- EMC semi-anechoic chamber
- Test systems for HVAC, heaters and heat exchangers
Tinténiac
FRSanden Manufacturing Europe S.A.S. – Manufacturing / Engineering
Polkowice
PLSanden Manufacturing Poland sp. z o.o. – Manufacturing
Basingstoke
GBUK Branch – Sales & Marketing
Madrid
ESRegional Office Spain / Iberia – Sales
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climatic wind tunnel testingTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Climatic wind tunnel: temperature range -40°C to +50°C, humidity 5–95% RH, solar simulation up toTesting | – | – | – | – | – |
| Vehicle NVH testing (vehicle acoustic chamber)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Charging under various climatic conditions (up to 400kW DC)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Thermal comfort measurements with thermal manikins (battery thermal management)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Compressor testing (function and endurance tests, HFO, R744, R290)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| System and component testing (HVAC, electric heaters, heat exchangers, full loop; HIL from 2026)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Contract research & development including test servicesEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manufacture of automotive compressors and air-conditioning systems (Manufacturing)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
6 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climatic wind tunnel (Climatic Wind Tunnel) | – | 1 | – | – | Sanden Europe (Europe) |
| Roller dynamometer (Dyno) | – | – | – | – | Sanden Europe |
| Vehicle acoustic chamber (Vehicle Acoustic Chamber) | – | – | – | – | Sanden Europe |
| Compressor test bench (Compressor Test Bench) | – | – | – | – | Sanden Europe |
| Semi-anechoic chamber (Semi-anechoic chamber, EMC) | – | 1 | Emissions 10Hz–18GHz, immunity 100kHz–6GHz | – | Sanden Europe |
| Test systems for system loops/components (HVAC, heaters, heat exchangers, full loop) | – | – | – | – | Sanden Europe |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality & Certifications
In 2025, Sanden was awarded the Volvo Cars Quality Excellence Award (300/300 points) for the quality and supply reliability of its electric compressors. Quality assurance includes, among other things, change-point management, standardized inspection processes and a globally uniform quality level.
| Evidence | Bad Nauheim |
|---|---|
| Volvo Cars Quality Excellence Award 2025 (VQE) |
History
- 1943
Founded as Sankyo Electric Company by Kaihei Ushikubo (bicycle lamps, owl trademark).
- 1950er
Entry into household appliances and commercial refrigeration technology.
- 1960er
Development of vending machines.
- 1970
Entry into automotive climate compressors (alliance with Mitchell Corporation), renaming to Sanden.
- 1979
European launch: Sanden International Europe in Basingstoke, UK.
- 1981
World's first scroll compressor for automotive; acquisition of Vendo (USA).
- 1990er
Environmentally friendly compressors; market position as OEM supplier.
- 2008
Opening of the Sanden Global Center of Technology.
- 2010er
Fully electric compressors, market position in truck integration of parking cooling, HVAC systems for truck customers.
- 2023
80th company anniversary, new slogan 'INNOVATING COMFORT'.
- 2025
Volvo Cars Quality Excellence Award 2025 for the European activities (SIE & SME); Tech Day with a European HCV manufacturer in the Netherlands.
- 2026
Planned HIL simulation (Hardware in the Loop) in the testing services.