ArvinMeritor Transfers World-Class Light Vehicle Emissions Technologies to Create Advanced Diesel Emissions Solutions for Commercial Vehicles
Clean Air Solutions promise significant
opportunities for business growth
TROY, Mich., (June 11,
2004) — At a press briefing today,
ArvinMeritor, Inc. (NYSE: ARM) unveiled a suite of Clean Air
Solutions technologies and products designed to help commercial vehicles meet
the increasingly stringent emissions regulations in the United States and
Europe. These advanced technologies are the direct result of migrating the
company’s extensive experience and expertise in light vehicle emissions
technologies to the commercial vehicle market. ArvinMeritor’s Clean Air
Solutions also position the company to take advantage of significant future
growth opportunities.
“This revolutionary technology represents one of
the synergistic opportunities we saw for the 2000 ArvinMeritor merger. It also
demonstrates our ongoing commitment to meeting customer needs,” said Larry Yost,
ArvinMeritor chairman and CEO. “Our commercial vehicle customers have a
great and immediate need for ways to meet the very tough emissions regulations
on the near horizon. We took Arvin’s leading position in exhaust
technology for light vehicles and applied that expertise to develop effective
solutions for our heavy-truck customers. These solutions will help them
meet the emissions management challenges they face today, and will face
tomorrow. The result is a win for both ArvinMeritor and our
customers.”
It is anticipated that all diesel engine
manufacturers will need to implement a combination of exhaust after-treatment
systems with engine design and control changes to comply with extremely
stringent U.S. and European regulations. U.S. standards for the commercial
vehicle industry call for a 90-percent or more reduction from current levels of
particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from
diesel-powered vehicles. That mandate will take effect in stages between
2007 and 2010. Similarly stricter European standards are being mandated in
2005 and 2008.
“We are a leading supplier to commercial vehicle
original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in North and South America, as well as
in Europe,” said Tom Gosnell, president of ArvinMeritor’s Commercial Vehicle
Systems business group. “No one matches the range and depth of our
portfolio of products. With the technological breakthroughs we’ve made in
creating Clean Air Solutions for gasoline-powered engines, we’re poised to
achieve a similar position in diesel emission control. That’s an issue as
far-reaching and difficult as any our industry has faced in recent memory.
We’re ready to help our customers face the challenge – that’s our
future.”
ArvinMeritor analysts indicate that, by 2010, the
global market for commercial vehicle diesel emission systems will approach $3
billion a year.
“This is a huge business opportunity for
ArvinMeritor,” Gosnell continued. “Our axle and brake operations have
always been the cornerstones of our commercial vehicle business. But now,
our customers need help meeting upcoming emission regulations. We’re already the
leading global supplier of emission control systems to the light vehicle
industry. With resources and talent to address emissions management
challenges in technical centers in Troy, Mich., Columbus, Ind., Warton, England,
and Augsburg, Germany, we have what it takes to deliver what the commercial
vehicle market needs. We started this migration more than 18 months ago,
and have made tremendous progress in that time in marrying that our light
vehicle emissions expertise to our unparalleled truck and bus
knowledge.
“We have already pioneered exhaust and emission
control technologies that are unique not only in the way they work, but also in
the undeniable benefits they give the customer,” said Gosnell. “For
example, our active regeneration technology for both PM and NOx traps provides
the intelligence to identify when regeneration is needed, and then triggers it
in a reliable and safe way.
“Our ability to produce hydrogen from diesel fuel
onboard and on demand, using the Plasma Fuel Reformer, is another example,”
added Gosnell. “This hydrogen is an excellent regenerator of NOx traps –
significantly more efficient than any competing technology. I believe that the
Plasma Fuel Reformer is a market changer. The beauty of this technology,
however, is that it has other possible applications, especially in improving the
performance of light vehicles. You’re going to be hearing a great deal
more about this technology. And most of it will be from
ArvinMeritor.”
The company has already been awarded significant
business and has developmental agreements for diesel emission control with a
number of heavy-duty vehicle and engine OEMs. These accomplishments
demonstrate that the company is well positioned to become the leading global
supplier of emission control systems for the commercial vehicle industry.
They include:
- Supplying NOx control equipment to two major
European heavy-duty truck OEMs for 2005
- Supplying PM filter systems to a major European
light-duty truck OEM for 2005, as well as to a U.S. heavy-duty truck OEM for
2007
- Significant supply contracts in the retrofit,
specialty and engine markets
- Development agreements with six major vehicle and
engine OEMs for future emissions technologies
Development of the Plasma Fuel Reformer is
partially funded by the State of Indiana 21st Century Research and Development
Fund.
ArvinMeritor, Inc. is a premier $8-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. Headquartered in Troy, Mich., ArvinMeritor employs
approximately 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/.
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