Sep. 24, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- BANGALORE, India, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- At an event held today in Bangalore, India, ArvinMeritor (NYSE: ARM) officially opened a new technical center which will lead the company's advanced product development initiatives for its broad portfolio of axles and brakes for commercial and other vehicle applications in Asia Pacific, and will support the company's engineering needs in North America, South America and Europe.

"Growth in Asia Pacific, particularly India and China, is a key component of our business strategy," said Tim Bowes, ArvinMeritor's vice president and managing director for Asia Pacific. "To support the growth we have planned in this region, we identified the need to increase the size of our engineering footprint in India - which was established more than ten years ago. This new engineering center accelerates our ability to provide advanced product solutions for on- and off-highway, bus and coach, military and other industrial applications."

The company hosted customers and suppliers today - including guest speakers Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director, Bharat Forge Limited, and Kevin Thieneman, India Country Manager, Caterpillar Asia - at a grand opening ceremony that included a tour of the facility which highlighted the center's engineering capabilities, specifically:

    --  Product Design and Development including design optimization and value
engineering
--  Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE) including finite element modeling and
analysis

--  Benchmarking and Testing area that will house dynamometer rigs for axles
and brakes, road load data acquisition and hydraulic rigs for vertical
fatigue and side skid

The Bangalore Technical Center occupies approximately 16,000 sq. ft. of office space, with an additional 4000 sq. ft. dedicated to a test lab. Approximately 100 employees will be employed at the facility, which will be a critical element in the company's global engineering network that also includes R&D labs in Troy, U.S.; Cameri, Italy; and Cwmbran, U.K.

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 marks its centennial anniversary in 2009, celebrating a long history of 'forward thinking.' The company serves commercial truck, trailer and specialty original equipment manufacturers and certain aftermarkets, and light vehicle manufacturers. ArvinMeritor common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ARM.