Press Releases

French fleets learn about cost saving opportunities and latest safety technologies for commercial vehicles at WABCO’s annual Aftermarket FleetDay HANOVER, GERMANY – 26. NOVEMBER 2007 – WABCO, one of the leading providers of electronic braking, stability, suspension and transmission control systems for the commercial vehicle industry, recently hosted more than  60 guests from leading French truck fleets and distributors at its annual FleetDays event on the company’s test track in Jeversen, Germany.  The event was combined with a visit to the WABCO engineering and manufacturing facility in Hannover and its state of the art training center.

"Partnership and lively exchange with our customers is very important to us,” said Philippe Ancelly, WABCO Aftermarket Leader, Southern Europe . “At this years’ FleetDays we demonstrated to more than 60 participants that our latest technology innovations do not only contribute to overall vehicle safety, but also allow for substantial cost savings thanks to reduced maintenance efforts and less vehicle downtimes – a decisive factor for the business success of our French customers."

The program featured product presentations and live-demonstrations, including innovations like IVTM (Integrated Vehicle Tire Pressure Monitoring), next generation electronic braking system for trailers (EBS E-Generation), the multi-functional data monitoring system Smart Board and Expert Diagnostics, a state of the art diagnostic solution. All of these products and systems improve the reliability of trucks, trailers, and buses, reduce the cost of ownership and offer new differentiating features that create more safety and value for customers worldwide. During the live demonstrations, WABCO engineers showed the performance and benefits of the advanced technologies on the test track.

In addition to latest technology innovations the fleets were also provided with a detailed update on WABCO's service network, one of the largest aftermarket service networks for trucks and heavy commercial vehicles all over Europe.

Participants toured the production areas at WABCO’s Hannover engineering and manufacturing facility and were introduced to the WABCO Operating System (WOS), the company’s advanced management system that covers every aspect of how it manages its business. This covers five core processes including a Six Sigma Lean manufacturing environment, Common Development Process (CDP) to create and launch innovative and high quality technologies and products using standardized processes and Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) methodology and a customer partnership model that defines how WABCO engages and supports its customers across the globe.

Detailed information on the WABCO products and systems presented at the FleetDay 2007 is available on the company’s website:
http://www.wabco-auto.com/de/products_and_systems.

WABCO in France
WABCO’s facility in Claye Souilly, 20 km east of Paris, France, and 30 minutes from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport, was established in its present location in 1971, having relocated from previous facilities occupied since 1874. Today it employs 500 people, including 50 development engineers and sales teams. WABCO France serves as a development, production and distribution facility for commercial vehicle and passenger car manufacturers in Europe and the US, and the commercial vehicle aftermarket in Europe. Specialist expertise includes transmission controls – clutch controls, integrated pedal boxes – and suspension controls for commercial vehicles, and air suspension systems for passenger cars. Customers are all CV OEMs as well as GM in US and PSA in France.

About WABCO
WABCO is one of the world's leading providers of electronic braking, stability, suspension and transmission control systems for heavy duty commercial vehicles. Customers include the world's leading commercial truck, trailer and bus manufacturers. Founded in the U.S. in 1869 as Westinghouse Air Brake Company, WABCO was acquired by American Standard in 1968 and spun off in 2007.  Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, WABCO employs more than 7,000 people in 34 offices and production facilities worldwide.  In 2006, WABCO's total sales were $2 billion.  WABCO is a publicly traded company and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the stock symbol WBC. 
Web site: www.wabco-auto.com.

Media contact:
Tobias Mueller, +49-69-719168-34, tobias.mueller@klenkhoursch.de