ArvinMeritor Springs into Field of Composite Suspensions Incorporates Liteflex® technology into new systems
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 19, 2003) —
ArvinMeritor’s Commercial Vehicle Systems business’ Worldwide Suspension Systems
division announced here today at the Mid-America Trucking Show that it has
entered into a joint agreement with Liteflex, LLC to be the sole distributor of
current Liteflex truck and trailer composite mechanical springs on a global
basis, effective immediately.
In addition, ArvinMeritor and Liteflex will develop
integrated composite suspension systems that will address heavy-duty truck,
trailer and specialty markets’ needs for lighter weight and better riding
suspensions. Several new systems will be available later this year.
Composite leaf trailer springs and front axle truck
springs are currently utilized by many North American truck and trailer original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on their vehicles’ suspensions.
“We plan to continue to support the OEMs and will
work to integrate the composite suspensions into their vehicles from the
planning and designing stage,” said Dan Chien, business unit director, Worldwide
Suspension Systems. “The new composite suspensions also will be available to our
aftermarket and fleet customers.”
The trailer composite suspension systems under
development will join RideStar® suspension systems, a member of the company’s
DriveTrain Plus family of heavy-duty components for the trucking
industry.
“We see composite technology as a tremendous
advantage for our commercial vehicle OEM customers as we offer a value that
surpasses previous suspension modules,” said Chien. “The composite spring’s
lighter weight will help provide improved fuel economy and increased payload
capacity.”
According to Bob Zirlin, director of worldwide
marketing, Suspension Systems and Trailer Products, composites can be designed
to conduct 50 percent less vibration than steel and to be more durable, along
with being corrosion resistant.
“Steel springs weigh more than their composite
counterparts,” said Zirlin. “Composite leaf springs -- made of fiber reinforced
epoxy -- are three and one-half times more durable than steel, 50-75 percent
lighter than steel depending on the application, and do not rust or lose
strength with age.”
“This joint agreement is a synergistic process,
which will provide the best of both worlds,” said John Prikkel, president of
Liteflex. “We are moving from a position of retrofitting vehicles to a
proactive, world-class operation to meet the needs of our customers, who will
benefit from ArvinMeritor’s sales and engineering prowess and Liteflex’s unique
design and development process.”
“We’re looking at highly-advanced products with
composite suspensions,” added Chien. “You have ArvinMeritor’s ability to
integrate with OEMs’ designs, combined with Liteflex’s composite expertise and
robust processing, and the results are lightweight, durable, and quieter
high-performance systems that offer exceptional value.”
The composite springs will be manufactured at
Liteflex’s facilities in Dayton, Ohio. The company has produced over 20 million
composite leaf springs for automotive and commercial vehicles over the past 22
years. Along with serving light-, medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle
markets, the springs are produced for the passenger vehicle market.
ArvinMeritor, Inc. is a premier $7-billion global
supplier of a broad range of integrated systems, modules and components to the
motor vehicle industry. The company serves light vehicle, commercial truck,
trailer and specialty original equipment manufacturers and related aftermarkets.
In addition, ArvinMeritor is a leader in coil coating applications. The company is headquartered in Troy, Mich.,
and employs 32,000 people at more than 150 manufacturing facilities in 27
countries. ArvinMeritor common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange
under the ticker symbol ARM. For more information, visit the company’s Web site
at: http://www.arvinmeritor.com/.
