ArvinMeritor Announces Additional Investment in Brazil

SAO PAULO, April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ArvinMeritor, Inc. (NYSE: ARM) announced today it will invest approximately $10 million USD to build a new axle manufacturing operation in Resende, Brazil, to support MAN's production of trucks and buses in the region.

On April 15, Georg Pachta-Reyhofen, president and CEO of MAN, announced investments of approximately $50 million USD to establish a supplier park in the industrial complex where the brand produces trucks. Approximately 700 new jobs will be created to support the expansion backed by components and systems suppliers ArvinMeritor, Suspensys and Maxion.

Silvio Barros, director of Marketing and Sales for ArvinMeritor in South America, said the company's investment in the supplier park is part of its strategy to support MAN's growth globally. "This initiative is aligned with our objectives to reinforce the ArvinMeritor brand as a strong player in the global commercial vehicle markets," said Barros.

The supplier consortium in Resende, near Rio de Janeiro, will be operational in 2011, one year before MAN launches TGS/X trucks to the Brazilian market. Trucks will be initially assembled from SKD kits imported from Germany with the medium-term objective of 60 percent local content.

Consortium

The MAN factory in Resende assembles trucks and buses with the support of an association of suppliers that provide complete components and systems from factories located in other parts of the country. ArvinMeritor and Maxion currently participate in this modular consortium inside the MAN factory. Axles and components supplied by ArvinMeritor are now produced in Osasco, 20 km from Sao Paulo, and dispatched to Resende.

Starting in 2012, the new ArvinMeritor warehouse and factory will produce axles locally for MAN and VW with components received from its manufacturing facility in Osasco, Brazil.

Suspensys, a 50/50 joint venture between ArvinMeritor and Brazilian company Randon, brings ArvinMeritor expertise and technology in brakes and suspensions to the consortium.

ArvinMeritor in South America

ArvinMeritor manufactures and supplies front steer axles, drive axles (single and tandem drive) and bus axles (low floor and entry platforms) for original equipment vehicle manufacturers in South America. And, toward the end of fiscal year 2010, the company will begin producing drivelines in its Osasco facility. In partnership with its joint ventures, Freios Master and Suspensys, ArvinMeritor supplies drum brakes, hubs, trailer and truck suspensions and trailer axles. The companies also provide aftermarket distributors with a broad portfolio of axle components.

About ArvinMeritor

ArvinMeritor, Inc. is a premier global supplier of a broad range of integrated systems, modules and components to original equipment manufacturers and the aftermarket for the transportation and industrial sectors. The company serves commercial truck, trailer and specialty original equipment manufacturers and certain aftermarkets, and light vehicle manufacturers. ArvinMeritor marked its centennial anniversary in 2009, celebrating a long history of 'forward thinking.' ArvinMeritor common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ARM. For important information about the company, visit arvinmeritor.com.

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SOURCE ArvinMeritor, Inc.