BorgWarner Names Bernd Matthes General Manager Of Program in New-Concept Automated Transmission Technology
10 November 2000
BorgWarner Names Bernd Matthes General Manager Of Program in New-Concept Automated Transmission Technology
CHICAGO, Nov. 10 BorgWarner Inc. has promoted
Dr. Bernd Matthes to the position of General Manager of its new program in wet
clutch and control system technology for a new-concept OEM automated
transmission. BorgWarner recently announced the receipt of a letter of intent
from a major European auto maker to supply the first application of the
technology, the potential market for which is expected to exceed $1 billion in
annual sales in the future.
The program will be based at the BorgWarner European Advanced Transmission
Development Center in Ketsch, Germany. Dr. Matthes has served as program
manager of the project since late 1998, before which he was Chief Engineer for
BorgWarner's Transmission Systems operations in Heidelberg for five years. In
his new role, Dr. Matthes will report to Richard Vogele, Vice President for
European Operations, BorgWarner Transmission Systems.
"The successful cross-business union of the wet-clutch expertise of
BorgWarner Transmission Systems with the advanced control strategies of
BorgWarner Air/Fluid Systems has resulted in a very exciting and high-
potential new technology," said Bob Welding, president and general manager,
BorgWarner Transmission Systems. "The leadership, energy and focus that Dr.
Matthes has demonstrated as program manager will serve him well in his new
role as General Manager of the business."
The new technology enables a manual transmission to evolve and perform
like a conventional automatic transmission yet deliver significantly improved
vehicle fuel economy. BorgWarner expects the market for this technology to
grow from virtually nothing today to 25 percent of the European market by
2008.
Chicago-based BorgWarner is a product leader in highly engineered
components and systems for vehicle powertrain applications worldwide. The
company operates 60 manufacturing and technical facilities in 13 countries.
Customers include Ford, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, Toyota, Caterpillar,
Navistar, PSA, Renault, ZF and VW Group. The Internet address for BorgWarner
is http://www.bwauto.com .
Statements contained in this news release may contain forward-looking
statements as contemplated by the 1995 Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act that are based on management's current expectations, estimates and
projections. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans,"
"believes," "estimates," variations of such words and similar expressions are
intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected or implied in the forward-
looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include: fluctuations in
domestic or foreign automotive production, the continued use of outside
suppliers by original equipment manufacturers, fluctuations in demand for
vehicles containing the Company's products, general economic conditions, as
well as other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including the Cautionary Statements filed as Exhibit 99.1
to the Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999.