2nd October 2008 - TMD Friction Strengthens Aftermarket Business

Thanks to its leading position at the forefront of the OE sector, TMD Friction has a unique range of OE products on the aftermarket.

By focusing its resources in its aftermarket (AM) business sector, the global leader on the original equipment (OE) market for brake friction products, TMD Friction, strengthens both the trade sector and garages in improving their customer service. Josef Besting, Senior Vice President Aftermarket of the Leverkusen-based group, was present at Automechanika sector fair in Frankfurt on Main, where he stated: “Our original equipment products for the automobile sector are renowned for their top quality, not only concerning passenger cars, but also for commercial vehicles. Proof of this are the 26 OE contracts awarded to TMD Friction in 2008 alone, including one for the new Golf VI. Since 2007, we have also been using a clearly defined strategy to expand this leading role towards the aftermarket business sector”. Josef Besting described the key points of the AM strategy adopted by TMD Friction as follows:

Own AM product capacities. TMD Friction has allocated individual production capacities to its extensive worldwide aftermarket organization, in order to ensure reliable delivery service for products from its brands Textar, Pagid, Mintex and Don. The four plants which now produce exclusively for the aftermarket are Hartlepool in Great Britain, Orzinuovi in Italy, Caransebes in Romania for passenger cars and Coswig in Germany for commercial vehicles.

OE quality for the aftermarket. Within the four AM plants, TMD Friction applies its wealth of experience and materials from the OE sector. This ensures that the AM products can meet the highest quality standards, and are even equal to the OE products in many cases. TMD Friction is the brake friction manufacturer with the largest number of OE parts in its AM product portfolio.

Textar: over 99% of market coverage Textar disc brake pads are available for 99% of all vehicles. As a result, TMD Friction's premium brand reaches higher market coverage than competitor brands, and the trade industry can make use of a complete range which ensures excellent levels of end client satisfaction