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AVL (Engineering Firm)

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AVL

Type	Private
Founded	1948
Headquarters	headquarters in Graz, Austria; facilities in 28 countries worldwide
Key people	Prof. Dr. h.c. Helmut List, Chairman & CEO
Industry	Automotive
Employees	3440 worldwide (2006)

AVL, or Anstalt für Verbrennungskraftmaschinen List, is an Austrian-based automotive consulting firm as well as an independent research institute. It is the largest privately owned company for the development of powertrain systems with internal combustion engines as well as instrumentation and test systems.

Company history and accomplishments

AVL was founded by Professor Doctor Hans List in 1948, after he became an independent engineer. The company was primarily focused on diesel truck engines, and after great success, branched out in 1960 to include an engine instrumentation division. In 1969, AVL developed a revolutionary test bed which allowed for comprehensive data acquisition and analysis. Throughout the 1970s, AVL's diesel engine performance and data acquisition capabilities continued to improve, while its PUMA test bed software began to give the company an international reputation. The founder's son Helmut List became the management chairman in 1979. After more innovations and more success in the 1980s, AVL opened its AST (Advanced Simulation Technology) division in 1987. Some of the AVL's special skills are widely known and available to the technically interested public. One is developing and improving 4-wheel-drive systems. Another is car sound design, for practically all car producers around the globe. This is why, in general, more silently running vehicles can be distinguished by their manufacturer. However, the sounds are sensitively matched to the local aural expectations, therefore they sound differently in Japan, South Korea, the US, Germany, or Italy. More significantly, each type of vehicle is expected to have a characteristic sound; a sport roadster's sound greatly differs from an SUV as well as a same-company cruising limousine. CEO Helmut List is also eponymous for the Helmut-List-Halle, a large multi-purpose cultural venue. It hosts many events during the annual Styrian Autumn Festival. As the hall particularly features ideal acoustic conditions for classical concerts, one of its estimators is a worldwide renowned Mozart expert who grew up in Graz, conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt.