The Bosch Group has received the prestigious Frost & Sullivan 2010 North American Technology Innovation of the Year Award in the "Brake Components Aftermarket" category.
Frost & Sullivan said Bosch's innovative QuietCast brakes represented "the first major technological improvement in friction products in more than five years."
"Featuring a shim molded to the pad's backing plate -- rather than one attached after the friction with tabs or adhesive -- this patented design significantly improves brake pad noise and vibration performance over competing aftermarket products."
Frost & Sullivan's Automotive & Transportation group officially presented the award to Bosch at the Frost & Sullivan February Awards Banquet in New Orleans, La.
Key benchmarking criteria
Frost & Sullivan used several criteria to benchmark Bosch's performance against key competitors:
* uniqueness of technology,
* impact on new products/applications,
* impact on functionality,
* impact on customer value,
* relevance of innovation to the industry.
"QuietCast is an attractive aftermarket solution for service professionals looking for OE quality in a full-line brakes program. Frost & Sullivan believes this will have a significant market impact on the $3 billion brakes category, which makes up one-fourth of revenues for some of the aftermarket's top distributors. Plus, to date, none of the company's shear tests has broken the attachment between QuietCast's shim and backing plate."
QuietCast is available for 97% of light vehicles operating in the United States and Canada. For more information on Bosch brake parts, visit www.boschusa.com.
