TMD Friction has become the major supplier of disc brake pads for the China National Heavy Duty Truck Corporation (CNHTC) and thus the leader of original equipment disc brake pads for commercial vehicles in China.

CNHTC, which sold 125,000 vehicles in 2009, is the leading manufacturer of heavy duty trucks in China and a highly regarded enterprise in the commercial vehicle industry. The CNHTC award is the first major project for truck disc brake pads to be produced locally at TMD Friction in China. TMD Friction has established a new delivery process and a new production line especially for this customer product. With this project, TMD Friction has shown that it is able to get new products onto the market rapidly. It only took six months from the first CNHTC visit until the official start of production.

The effective cooperation with the Chinese manufacturer of heavy duty trucks confirms TMD Friction's excellent product quality, strong supply chain and outstanding customer service, for which the company has already received several awards this year: SABS, a Chinese joint-venture for passenger car brake systems and part of the Continental group, granted TMD Friction China its award as "SABS Best Supplier" for 2009. TMD Friction China won this prestigious award for the second time and became one of the strategic suppliers to SABS. The manufacturer of brake friction materials also received the "APG 2009 Best Quality Performance Supplier" award of the leading local brake manufacturer, Zhejiang Asia-Pacific Machine & Electric Ltd. In the Chinese online trading portal HC360, TMD Friction was able to defend its top-ten ranking among international companies in the automotive parts supplier market in 2009.

"The successful cooperation with CNHTC and the customer awards are proof of our outstanding development and manufacturing competence in friction products. The successful project underscores once again our excellent local production quality and our ability to supply the global market. We are, accordingly, on course to generate further growth in China," explained Xiuzhan Zhu, General Manager of TMD Friction China.

TMD Friction has been active in the Chinese market for more than ten years and has two production sites in Shijiazhuang and Hangzhou. Together, both plants produce around 13 million brake pads and linings for passenger cars and commercial vehicles per year.

About TMD Friction
TMD Friction Group is among the world's leading manufacturers of brake friction materials for the automotive and brake industries. Its product portfolio comprises disc brake pads and drum brake linings for passenger cars and commercial vehicles together with brake pads for racing cars and friction materials for rail and industrial applications. TMD Friction is one of the largest suppliers to the global replacement parts aftermarket with its Textar, Pagid, Mintex, Don and Cobreq brands. Brake pads for rail and industrial applications are developed and manufactured under the brand name Cosid. TMD Friction has operations in Germany and four other European countries, as well as in the US, Brazil, Mexico, China and Japan. The TMD Friction Group employs more than 4,500 people worldwide. For further information please visit www.tmdfriction.com.