Award Ceremony held for the "Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers Medal for New Technology"

Tokyo, Japan - (April 22, 2016) - Akebono Brake Industry's achievement in the "development and mass production of high-performance brakes for road cars" had been awarded the FY2015 Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers (JSME) Medal for New Technology. The award ceremony was held at Meiji Kinenkan, Japan's historical ceremony hall in Tokyo, on April 21.

Established in 1958 with the aims of encouraging research activities and development of mechanical engineering in Japan, the JSME Medal has been presented annually to outstanding papers, technologies and products. In 1982, AkebonoBrake Industry received the JSME Medal for its "development of a new type of disc brake for passenger cars," making this the second time for the society to recognize the company's achievements.

Lighter weight is becoming an increasingly important factor in automotive brakes, in addition to safety through greater stopping power and stability, and enhanced comfort through minimized noise and vibration. The brake that was recognized by the award was developed for the McLaren P1TM ultra-high performance road car which boasts a maximum speed of over 350km/h. The vehicle requires stability when braking at ultra-high speed and high temperature levels, as well as lightweight brake components. Dedicated carbon-based lubricant have greatly improved the heat resistance of the brake pads, while newly developed carbon-ceramic material and smaller diameter discs contribute greatly to reduce the weight while maintaining high stopping-power. Furthermore, comfortable braking without noise or vibration in city driving is ensured.

"It is an honor for us that our technology has been recognized through one of Japan's most authoritative and long-established technology awards. I would like to share this honor not only with the engineers in R&D, production engineering, quality control and purchasing, but with all Akebono associates. We have been developing and accumulating advanced technologies and engineering resources through our motorsports endeavors with VCET (Vision Creative Engineering Team) since 2002, in order to be undisputed brake experts. I believe this award is one of the notable outcomes of such activity. The technologies in the awarded brakes are already being applied in the development of high performance brakes. This award will boost our development speed, as well as the competitiveness and differentiation of our products, which will surely expand our business," Hisataka Nobumoto, Chairman, President & CEO, Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd. commented.

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About Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd.

Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd. (TSE:7238), founded in 1929, is a world leader in advanced brake and friction material development and production. The Akebono Group operates R&D centers and manufacturing facilities worldwide, such as in Japan, the United States, Europe and Asia. Akebono has been supplying and jointly developing brake systems with the McLaren Formula 1 team since 2007.

For more information, visit www.akebono-brake.com/english/index.html.