Federal-Mogul to establish Japanese tech center

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (Feb. 25)—Federal-Mogul Corp. will establish a technical center in Japan over the next three years to increase its level of service to Japanese auto makers. "There are many new powertrain transplant opportunities over the next five to 10 years, and the engineering and sourcing decisions are still centralized in Japan," said Chip McClure, president and chief operating officer. The new technical center, scheduled to open early next year, will house applications engineering, computer-aided design equipment, 24-hour online capabilities between Japan, Europe and North America, engine test cells and sales engineering. In the Asia Pacific area, Federal-Mogul operates 30 businesses in 11 countries, including 13 joint ventures; 85 percent of its sales in the region are with powertrain products.