AD&P; > July 2014 > NOTABLE
20
How Federal-Mogul
Got the Lead Out
In 2011, European legislation
mandated the elimination of lead
from automotive components,
which led Federal-Mogul Pow-
ertrain Div. ( federalmogul.com )
to develop materials that would
allow it to ofer lead-free bear-
ings. It recently expanded its
plant in Sejong City, Korea, to
address a growing demand for
lead-free bearings for powertrain
applications in Asia, as well.
Speaking to how the bearings
were developed, Richard Llope,
Federal-Mogul's senior vice pres-
ident, Bearings, said, "By con-
sidering both the substrate and
sliding layers, we identifed an
array of complementary material
combinations that have allowed
us to provide a comprehensive
portfolio of solutions for the en-
tire global engine and transmis-
sion market. Concentrating only
on the sliding layers would have
produced less capable solutions,
p Federal-Mogul optimized its manu-
facturing operations and validation
procedures for the production of lead-
free bearings for powertrain applications.
suitable only for certain applica-
tions. Our strategy to focus on
the development of substrate and
sliding layers together and with
equal importance has helped us
establish an important competi-
tive advantage."
Eighteen patents have been
granted globally to the company
for its lead-free bearing
developments.
The development lead on the
project was its Global Bearing
Technology Center in Wiesbaden,
Germany.
0714ADP Notable -- Digital Version.indd 20 6/17/2014 1:13:58 PM