TRW occupant protection technology wins international grand prize for technology innovation

Birmingham, England, October 21 -- - Innovative active control retractor links passive & active safety:

TRW Automotive's Active Control Retractor (ACR) technology - the first active seat belt system on the market - gained the gold trophy for original equipment for vehicles in the International Grand Prize for Technology Innovation at the Equip Auto show in Paris. The award is sponsored by the European Technical Journalists Association and the French Automotive Press Association and judged by a panel of 70 journalists and 22 automotive experts from across Europe.

"We are proud to have gained this award and to be recognized again for this 'game-changing' safety innovation, which demonstrates TRW Automotive's unique mission and ability to integrate passive and active safety systems," said Peter J. Lake, vice president, Sales and Business Development for TRW Automotive.

Introduced on the 2003 Mercedes S-Class, TRW Automotive's ACR is among the industry's first technologies linking active and passive safety. ACR is designed to use braking and stability control sensor information to sense a potential accident. The system accordingly removes the seatbelt slack to help better position the occupant in relation to the vehicle's airbag supplemental restraint system. The ACR's electronic drive unit, which is integrated into the seat belt system, acts as part of the Mercedes-Benz Pre-Safe system and resets itself if the critical event is avoided.

The ACR technology was developed in close cooperation by the core engineering team at TRW Automotive's state-of-the-art occupant safety system facility in Alfdorf, Germany and their engineering counterparts at Mercedes-Benz.

ACR has been honored with Spain's Motortec Galeria de Innovacion (Gallery of Innovation) 2003 award, has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2003 PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers' Contribution to Excellence) awards program and is one component in Mercedes-Benz's Pre-Safe system, which has been recognized with awards from the World Traffic Symposium and several European publications.

Recently, TRW Automotive signed a contract to provide ACR units for a European platform scheduled to begin production in 2005. The company has already begun the development process for its second-generation ACR system.