Martin Hendricks is vice president and general manager, braking, Federal-Mogul and Wagner Brake Products, with responsibility for OE and aftermarket brake friction operations. Wagner Brake recently announced a breakthrough in ceramic friction technology that meets impending environmental requirements for copper content while reportedly also enhancing brake performance. In today’s AMN Executive Interview, Hendricks offers more details on the announcement. 
Last week, Wagner Brake Products introduced an exclusive portfolio of “OE21” low-copper ceramic friction formulations to its Wagner ThermoQuiet CeramicNXT brake pads. These low-copper formulations beat the environmental requirements established by some U.S. states by more than seven years. Tell us how the Wagner OE21 formulations will benefit aftermarket customers today.
Hendricks: OE21 is a game-changing technology that does much more than meet impending environmental requirements; it also establishes an entirely new performance benchmark for automotive brake friction formulations. Yes, it beats the environmental deadlines by several years, but more importantly, this new portfolio of low-copper formulations provides significantly better stopping power, improved wear characteristics, minimal dusting and the best noise-controlling properties of any technology, in any brake pad we have ever produced for the aftermarket. In developing these low-copper formulations, our global OE and aftermarket engineers have essentially redefined the science of ceramic friction technology. Based on the obvious performance benefits of Wagner OE21, it only made sense for us to bring these formulations to market today rather than wait until the mandated deadlines. In fact, several vehicle manufacturers are introducing low-copper technology in their next vehicle platforms.
So you expect low-copper technology to become a much faster reality than the aftermarket might have expected?
Hendricks: Yes. Wagner OE21 proves that, given the best science, low-copper formulations can provide noticeably improved braking performance. And in seeing these benefits, global automakers themselves are making the change to low-copper much earlier than many had expected – and the change will affect vehicles sold in all North American markets and perhaps other regional markets as well. As a result, the ability to offer a truly OE-quality low-copper ceramic material is going to be a competitive requirement for manufacturers and brands serving the aftermarket. Millions of consumers want the latest and best brake products for their vehicles, and the bar has now been raised in the ceramic friction category. Thanks to our leadership as an OE manufacturer, Wagner Brake now offers low-copper formulations that have become the new standard for millions of next-generation vehicles.
Will OE21 formulations be offered in all Wagner ThermoQuiet CeramicNXT pads or just those sold in the regulated states?
Hendricks: The new Wagner OE21 formulations are available immediately in virtually all ThermoQuiet CeramicNXT brake pads. Vehicle manufacturers are not planning to segment their brake technologies based on state regulations, so the shift at the OE level is happening in every state and throughout Canada. In addition, the clear performance benefits of Wagner OE21 make these formulations appropriate and appealing for all markets right now. In fact, we’ve already heard from shop owners and others who have used these new pads and noticed a significant improvement. That’s the best possible endorsement of Wagner OE21.
Copper has been seen as an almost indispensable ingredient of ceramic formulations. How has Wagner Brake been able to reduce copper content so dramatically?
Hendricks: Copper has traditionally been a friction modifier used in conventional ceramic friction formulations, often representing up to 20 percent of total material content by weight in some cases. The state-based legislation begins the phase-out of regulated metal compounds in 2014 and 2015, and by 2021 manufacturers must reduce copper content to less than 5 percent of material weight. That’s a huge reduction, and it’s no surprise that many aftermarket brake manufacturers have been challenged by this requirement. We viewed it much differently. As an OE brake friction manufacturer, we embraced the responsibility to lead in this effort. We chose not to approach it simply as an environmental challenge, but as an opportunity to raise the bar for all ceramic brake pads in terms of overall performance.
From an engineering standpoint, our global R&D teams developed a unique process called tribological “fingerprinting” that enabled them to isolate and map the behavior of copper within the friction material over a full range of operating conditions. Once we fully understood how copper reacts during brake operation, we were able to substitute and compare the behavior of some 1,500 alternatives. Each Wagner OE21 formulation represents a unique composite of several of these new materials as required to meet the braking requirements of the corresponding application.
In a way, then, the Wagner OE21 breakthrough resulted from what at first appeared to simply be an environmental requirement?
Hendricks: That’s true but certainly not uncommon in the automotive industry. Environmental and safety regulations have long been catalysts for significant new technologies, including passive restraint systems, electronic stability control, ozone-friendly refrigerants, emissions after-treatment systems and on-board electronics. In each of those cases, what at first might have appeared to be an onerous challenge ultimately opened the door to sophisticated new technologies that offered much broader benefits in terms of overall vehicle safety, performance and environmental sensitivity. These added benefits – more powerful, quieter and longer-lasting brake pads – actually drove the timing for bringing Wagner OE21 to market. That’s how important the advantages of Wagner OE21 are for consumers and the professionals who repair their cars.
You have indicated that the new formulations actually outperform many existing OE and aftermarket ceramic materials. How so?
Hendricks: The new formulations provide the highest friction output, or stopping power, of any other ceramic formulation we have ever produced. At the same time, they are 35 percent quieter and provide up to 40 percent better fade performance than our best previous ThermoQuiet CeramicNXT formulations. Wagner OE21 also helps reduce dusting and offers better wear characteristics than any other Wagner ceramic formulation. Based on these benefits, it’s fair to say that ThermoQuiet CeramicNXT brake pads are the best pads in the history of the Wagner brand.
What’s the next environmental regulation facing brake manufacturers and vehicle OEMs?
Hendricks: The next step is to reduce copper content to less than 0.5 percent of friction material weight, which must happen by 2025 under current law in California and Washington. But based on our low-copper achievements, our scientists are already developing zero-copper ceramic formulations that, like Wagner OE21, we expect will also set new performance benchmarks. A few of these formulations – which we call Wagner OE25 – are already undergoing testing.
