Automakers Like Grammer Child Booster Seat

TROY, Mich., April 11 -- A patented integrated child-booster seat developed by Grammer AG-Automotive is attracting interest from child- safety advocates and automotive product development engineers.

Booster seats are now mandated by law in 28 states and the District of Columbia to properly position youngsters between 40 and 80 pounds within an automobile's factory-installed seat-belt system.

Anton's Law, signed by President Bush in December 2002, requires the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to provide Congress with an evaluation of current testing devices and research into the nature and causes of injury to children involved in motor vehicle crashes.

Anton's Law was named for Anton Skeen, a four-year-old from Walla Walla, Wash., who died in a vehicle rollover accident after sliding out from under a rear-seat safety belt.

While standards still are being developed in the United States to comply with Anton's Law, Grammer's integrated child-booster seats pass European safety test standards for protecting children who are too big for infant seats and too small to fit within a vehicle's seat belt. At present, car crashes represent the number one killer of children aged four to eight.

A recent National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) study of 6,000 found that only 21 percent of children aged four to eight ride in a booster seat occasionally, although children who ride in booster seats are 59 percent less likely to be injured in a crash than children restrained by only a safety belt.

Grammer AG is a world leader in the development and manufacture of innovative components and systems for automobile interiors. Wherever people use vehicles, Grammer, based in Amberg, Germany, sets the standards for security, comfort and ergonomics. Automotive is the company's largest division and supplies headrests, armrests, center consoles and integrated child-booster seats to vehicle manufacturers and their tier 1 systems suppliers.

The company's second division, Seating Systems, provides driver seats for heavy trucks and off-road vehicles (tractors, construction machinery, forklifts) as well as passenger seats for trains and buses. Grammer Seating Systems is active both as a first-time supplier and as a retrofitter.

As a global player, the Grammer Group operates with a strong customer focus that includes location of development and production facilities close to clients and relies on an international network of partners. In fiscal 2003, Grammer Group sales were $992 million; North American sales totaled $145 million. With over 7,500 employees, Grammer and its 20 consolidated companies operate in 13 different countries worldwide.