Fras-le North America joins upcoming trends at HDAW, one of USA’s top Commercial Aftermarket shows of the year

Installed in the world's largest consumer market since 2008, Fras-le North America has confirmed its presence at Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week (HDAW) 2020, one of the leading US commercial vehicle aftermarket conferences held in Grapevine, Texas, from January 27th to 30th. More than 2,300 executives and managers from the USA, Canada, and six other countries, including distributors, suppliers, service providers, and educators attended the 2019 conference in Las Vegas.

Fras-le will use the technology it has been applying to each new line of product development: smart materials and trend anticipation. One of the highlights will be the newly launched GRN Tech, a copper-free air brake pad, which offers a longer useful life, without harming the environment.

GRN Tech formulations are already in compliance with Level N regulations, which limits the coefficients of heavy metals, in this case copper, is required to be less than 0.5% of the weight. Fras-le has anticipated the increased level of US environmental regulations, by restricting the use of copper in its friction material and eliminating by 2025.

GRN Tech is manufactured from an innovative formula, providing increased braking efficiency and rotor and pad durability. The product already is being used in fleets within the United States, Europe, and Brazil with extremely positive results, meeting the highest requirements and performance standards of OEM customers.

“It is a unique product because, in addition to being environmentally friendly and technologically advanced, it offers the OEM market a quality, state-of-the-art, copper-free solution that exceeds the highest performance expectations,” said Fras-la North America Unit Director Anderson Pontalti. The development is the result of years of Fras-le engineering studies and intensive testing in our own labs and the Randon Technology Center (CTR) world-class innovation hub. Pontalti noted that, thanks to its innovative stance, the company was recently recognized as the “2019 Industry of the Year” by the Prattville, Alabama Chamber of Commerce, where it owns a hydraulic and air pad plant.

Hydraulic Brakes and Medium Commercial Vehicles - Fras-le also brings to HDAW 2020 two other high-tech solutions, with specific developments that are already widely accepted in the North American market. For school bus, ambulance, and truck applications, the Copper-free Extreme Service hydraulic brake pads ensure increased durability and braking efficiency under severe conditions, demonstrating high performance at high temperature. The Magnum Pro pads, which also has a copper-free formulation, are designed to ensure longer pad and disc durability in medium-sized commercial vehicles. Among other attributes, they present a high level of comfort with lower levels of noise and vibration.

With an increasingly diversified portfolio to meet global market demands and characteristics, Fras-le will be highlighting the range of hydraulic brake discs for medium-grade commercial applications, at HDAW, in grades 4 through 7. The product was recently launched in the North American market, following the acquisition of Fremax - an international benchmark for premium motion control products.

Fras-le pads and linings are available in the original and aftermarket parts markets in the United States and in over 120 countries. Manufactured from high quality asbestos-free raw materials, the products use specific formulas for each application in commercial vehicles, trucks, tractors, trailers, buses, dump trucks, light vehicles and other specialized vehicles and equipment.