Newtech Introduces Its Full Contact Disc Brake to The Urban Bus Market

BLAINVILLE, Quebec, July 2 NewTech Group International Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a contract to adapt its full contact disc brake to the ZF drop axles used on the Nova Bus low-floor busses owned by the Societe de Transport de Montreal. The work on this contract will start in August 2002.

The impact of this contract will also positively effect its American affiliate NewTech Brake Corp., which holds the North American and European distribution and licensing rights for the patented NewTech brake for heavy vehicles. STM will provide NewTech with two low-floor Nova Bus busses to validate the technical and economic performance of the brake system.

"We are extremely pleased to have been awarded this contract" said Mr. Yvon Rancourt, Chairman of NewTech Group International. "STM is known as a world leader and innovator of bus fleet management. Their recognition of our full contact disc brake as a solution for their needs is a first step in the commercialization of our heavy vehicle braking system. It opens up not only the Quebec and Canadian bus markets but also all of North America and Europe."

The Societe de Transport de Montreal has the largest bus fleet in Canada and the fifth largest in North America, with 1,550 busses in operation including some 520 low floor busses in its fleet and an additional 382 on order.

Mr. Rancourt added: "The market for low-floor busses, which are manufactured in Quebec by Nova Bus, a division of Prevost Car Inc., is especially important to us since these busses use a drop axle provided by a major international axle manufacturer. This means that the work to adapt our brake to the STM fleet will serve other markets using the same axle."

NewTech will collaborate with the STM and Nova Bus for the adaptation of the first full contact disc brake on busses.

NewTech Group International Inc. is engaged in the research and development of products for the automotive and truck markets and provides the technical support to bring these products to market. NewTech, in existence for more than ten years, develops the full contact brake, intelligent brake system (IBS), brake-by-wire systems, disc surface treatments and the NewTech Mecatronic extensiometric sensor. NewTech is also currently performing feasibility studies in collaboration with Renault VI (industrial vehicles), Sultzer Matco and GIE Renault Recherche Innovation.

NewTech Brake Corp., (OTC:BB-NWTB) is a US affiliate of NewTech Group International Inc. and operates under an exclusive license from the latter, to commercialize the NewTech patented full contact disc brake for heavy vehicles (OEM and aftermarket) in North America and Europe.