Frost & Sullivan Lauds TMD Friction for Leading the European Brake Friction Material Market with its Best-in-class Friction Materials
TMD Friction's strategy of including customers in its development process has proved a winning move
LONDON, June 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the original equipment brake friction material market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes TMD Friction with the 2015 European Frost & Sullivan Award for Customer Value Leadership. TMD Friction has leveraged over 135 years of experience in the market to create the right type of friction materials for any given application and vehicle type, at the right price point. Its collaborations with different original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across the market have gone a long way in improving its performance and simultaneously, lowering costs.
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"Due to the higher average speed in Europe, OEMs prefer high-performance brake pads that are also noise-free and long lasting. TMD Friction meets these demands with a wide variety of products that are optimally designed to cater to specific types of vehicles and applications," said Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Kamalesh Mohanarangam. "Although its competitors focus on improving the costs and noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) characteristics, they tend to wear out sooner, and do not match the performance of TMD Friction's products at higher speeds."
In order to develop the right type of brake pads, TMD Friction has established a benchmark Product Development and Implementation Process (PDIP) that effectively involves the Tier 1 supplier as well as the OEM at every stage of the development process. In the initial stages, the friction material is developed after analysing the OEM's and vehicle's DNA. Then the material is selected and a small number of brake pads – optimized by using TMD Friction developed computer simulation algorithms – are sent for technical approval, after which, the series production begins. Owing to this well thought-out strategy of partnering with the customer, TMD Friction for instance has become the major supplier of rear-axle brake pads and a supplier of front-axle brake pads for the BMW's 5 Series model.
TMD Friction has created a product portfolio for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles world-wide with a long list of distinctive solutions due to its continuous investment in R&D. Its range of products spans various segments, including low-cost OEMs such as Dacia, luxurious OEMs like Bentley, and high-performance OEMs such as Ferrari or Bugatti. Besides, TMD Friction enjoys the reputation of being the first manufacturer to have homologated copper-free brake pads in OE for high-performance vehicles.
"TMD Friction plans to invest €53 million in Germany to set up its most up-to-date production site, with the latest manufacturing and raw material–mixing technologies," noted Mohanarangam. "This move is to consolidate all of the company's OE PC business in a single location, and provide enhanced control over cost and quality. TMD Friction is updating its processes in all its global manufacturing sites, as well as investing in new factories."
Importantly, TMD Friction's acquisition by Nisshinbo has helped it update its manufacturing and mixing process, leading to reduced wastage and superior products. This acquisition has also played a huge role in expanding the company's global footprint and stoking its organic growth. Already, since the acquisition, TMD Friction has posted an average growth rate of 20 percent, and is expected to retain its leading position in the European market.
"As demonstrated by TMD Friction, the key to the long-term success of any company is its ability to continuously nurture and enhance the value of its products and/or services to its customers," observed Krishna Srinivasan, Global President and Managing Partner, Frost & Sullivan. "As such, Frost & Sullivan is excited to recognize TMD Friction for its industry-leading focus on improving customer experience and customer ROI for its products in the OE brake friction material market."
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in implementing strategies that proactively create value for its customers with a focus on improving the return on the investment that customers make in its services or products. The award recognizes the company's inordinate focus on enhancing the value that its customers receive, beyond simply good customer service, leading to improved customer retention and ultimately customer base expansion.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.
About TMD Friction
TMD Friction 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 produced under the brand names Cosid and Dynotherm. TMD Friction has operations in Germany, the United Kingdom, and three other European countries, as well as in the US, Brazil, Mexico, China, Japan and South Africa. The TMD Friction Group employs approximately 4,800 people worldwide. For further information please visit www.tmdfriction.com.
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