Annual Report 2012 - Knorr-Bremse AG.
Annual Report 2012 - Knorr-Bremse AG.
Annual Report 2012 - Knorr-Bremse AG.
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In this market environment, the Group’s US subsidiary<br />
New York Air Brake Corp. won a large number of orders for<br />
its driver assistance system LEADER. Since the product<br />
was launched, more than 2,500 systems have been sold<br />
to eight customers. In the year under review, the largest<br />
order, for 1,125 LEADER systems, was received from freight<br />
operator Norfolk Southern Railway Corp.<br />
In the mass transit sector too, <strong>Knorr</strong>-<strong>Bremse</strong> was able to<br />
build on its existing position and won orders for several additional<br />
important mass transit projects. <strong>Knorr</strong>-<strong>Bremse</strong> subsidiary<br />
<strong>Knorr</strong> Brake Corporation is to supply the braking,<br />
door and HVAC systems for 78 car sets that are being built<br />
for the Los Angeles Metro by Kinkisharyo International. With<br />
these new vehicles, from 2015 onward, metro operator Los<br />
Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is<br />
expanding its capacity and modernizing its fleet. The operator<br />
has also taken out an option on a further 157 car sets.<br />
<strong>Knorr</strong> Brake Corporation is also to supply the braking, door<br />
and HVAC systems for 80 driverless vehicles to be built by<br />
AnsaldoBreda S.p.A. for operator Honolulu Authority for<br />
Rapid Transportation. The light rail vehicles (LRVs) will be operating<br />
on a new commuter line starting in 2015. From<br />
2013, braking and door systems from <strong>Knorr</strong> Brake Corporation<br />
will also be installed in 39 CAF LRVs destined for new<br />
mass transit lines in Houston, Texas.<br />
Commercial Vehicle Systems<br />
While the recovery of the North American truck market<br />
continued in <strong>2012</strong>, it did so at a modest pace. Compared<br />
to the prior year, air-braked truck production (over 6 t)<br />
was up 4% at 353,000 units. Nevertheless the market still<br />
trails 29% behind its 2006 peak of 500,000 units.<br />
<strong>Knorr</strong>-<strong>Bremse</strong>’s North American business is handled by<br />
its subsidiary Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC,<br />
Elyria, Ohio, under the Bendix brand. With delivery of<br />
the 200,000th Bendix ESP Electronic Stability Program<br />
full-stability system in August, the company reached a<br />
major milestone in the year under review. The technology<br />
was introduced in 2005 and today there are over<br />
222,000 units in the field.<br />
In <strong>2012</strong>, Bendix further reinforced its market leadership<br />
in North America by securing a variety of orders. In May<br />
<strong>2012</strong>, for example, the company’s Bendix ESP stability<br />
system with Automatic Traction Control (ATC) became<br />
standard on the majority of US commercial vehicle<br />
manufacturer Peterbilt Motors Company’s Class 8 trucks<br />
and tractors. Peterbilt also made Bendix Wingman Advanced<br />
– a collision mitigation technology – an option<br />
on all Class 8 on-highway trucks and tractors. In this<br />
system, a radar sensor constantly measures the distance<br />
to the forward vehicle and automatically regulates the<br />
speed in accordance with the data acquired. If the distance<br />
closes too fast, the system first provides audible<br />
and visual alerts to the driver. If the driver fails to respond<br />
adequately, the Wingman Advanced system will<br />
actively intervene, reducing throttle, engaging the engine<br />
retarder or, if necessary, applying the foundation<br />
brakes. Wingman Advanced was launched in 2011 with<br />
Navistar and is released not only at Peterbilt, but also as<br />
an option at Kenworth (on select new Class 8 models),<br />
Mack and Volvo.<br />
In <strong>2012</strong>, US manufacturer Kenworth Trucks also added<br />
the SmarTire Tire Pressure and Temperature Monitoring<br />
System (TPMS) by Bendix as an option on selected new<br />
Class 8 vehicle models. TPMS continuously monitors the<br />
pressure and temperature of each tire, providing realtime<br />
status information. If the tire pressure falls below a<br />
set value, posing a potential safety hazard, the system<br />
alerts the driver. In addition to the safety aspect, the<br />
system also makes a valuable contribution to cutting<br />
fleet operating costs: tire wear and fuel consumption<br />
can be substantially reduced by maintaining correct<br />
tire pressures.<br />
Bendix scored another success with US commercial vehicle<br />
builder Navistar when the company chose to rely<br />
exclusively on door systems modules from Bendix for its