Based on its recent analysis of the heavy-duty truck bearings market, Frost & Sullivan has presented GGB Bearing Technology with the 2008 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Innovation of the Year in the Class 7-8 truck bearings segment. Each year, this award is presented to the company that has demonstrated excellence in new products and technologies within its industry.

This year's Award is in recognition of GGB's development of robust, long-lasting DX(R)10 with DuraStrong(TM) technology bearings, and its focus on application-specific heavy truck bearings that perform effectively under the rigors of on-highway and vocational truck operation, consistently delivering superior return-on-investment and customer value.

GGB, formerly known as Glacier Garlock Bearings, is the world's largest manufacturer of metal-polymer plain bearings. The company has cemented its position as a leader in product innovation in the heavy truck bearings market through the development of its DuraStrong technology, which it effectively leveraged to design and introduce the innovative DX(R)10 bearing.

"The company's expertise in developing high-quality bearing systems for industries such as aerospace, agriculture, marine, hydraulics, and on-highway and off-highway automotive provides it the unique ability to deliver the most comprehensive and application-specific bearing solutions to its customers," notes Frost & Sullivan Program Manager for Heavy Truck Technologies, Sandeep Kar. "It offers a broad suite of self-lubricated, marginally lubricated, and fully lubricated bearings that complement several applications across the above-mentioned industries."

GGB has been a pioneering force in the area of metal-polymer bearings and has been successful in developing bearing products featuring specific bearing characteristics for longer life in even the harshest of applications.

The company's marketing and research and development teams work in tandem to understand the opportunities for developing bearing solutions that feature elevated performance and highlight the cost-benefit attributes of its product line. This synergistic relationship, coupled with its focus on heavy-truck focused bearing solutions, resulted in the introduction of the DX(R)10 bearing system.

Developed specifically for the trucking operations of Class 7-8 trucks, the DX(R)10 bearing system is built using the DuraStrong technology-based, steel-backed, metal-polymer composite material. The steel backing increases the mechanical strength and load-bearing properties of the DX(R)10 bearings, which are also lead-free and possess superior abrasion resistance and longer service life.
Designed to replace bi-metal and bronze bushings, the DX(R)10 bearings can withstand high loads, vibrations, and heat. This results in improved wear performance and reduced impact on the truck's kingpins. Coupled with its chemical and erosion resistance, DX(R)10 is the right bearing choice for multiple vocational truck applications.

"DX(R)10 bearings are best suited for greased applications where trucks haul heavy loads and are subjected to random vibrations, extreme temperatures, and off-road surface shocks, In addition it has a high resistance to surface contamination through the use of DuraStrong(TM) Technology," continues Kar. "The steel backing and metal-polymer construction enhance the dimension stability and thermal conductivity of DX(R)10 bearings and deliver optimum performance over the widest range of on-highway and vocational applications."

Based on its constituent technologies and materials, DX(R)10 bearings can greatly reduce vehicle downtime and operating costs through significant enhancements in fatigue strength, bearing robustness, and wear resistance. The net result is a product that features improved reliability, an attractive performance to price ratio, and lower costs. In an operating environment of high diesel prices, lower profitability, and increasing downtime, these are vital factors in favor of the DX(R)10 bearing system.

The DX(R)10 with DuraStrong(TM) Technology bearing system showcases GGB's product innovation focus in heavy truck bearings and sets the stage for end-user and application-focused bearing technology enhancements in the future. Frost & Sullivan believes that the DX(R)10 bearing has elevated the benchmark for innovative heavy truck bearing technologies and expects GGB to gain rapid market adoption with this advanced product.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About GGB Bearing Technology

GGB is the world's largest manufacturer of metal-polymer plain bearings. The company also offers a wide range of solid-polymer, filament-wound, and mono- and bi-metallic bearings, as well as special housings and assemblies. GGB serves more than 50,000 customers worldwide with sophisticated R&D and testing, applications engineering support, an extensive network of distributors, and 24 locations in 20 countries including production facilities in the U.S., Germany, France, Slovakia, China and India.

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