Wabco signs supply deal with China truck maker

Belgian auto-parts supplier Wabco Holdings Inc. said Thursday it will supply China's largest heavy truck manufacturer with parts through 2016 in a deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

WABCO has supplied air management systems, braking and transmission control parts to China National Heavy Truck Corporation since 1997. The new contract expands the partnership and makes WABCO CNHTC's sole supplier of automated manual transmission systems for the life of the deal.

Over the past decade, WABCO has transformed from a European export company into a global organization that successfully adapts to the requirements of the Chinese market," said Cai Dong, CNHTC president, in a statement.

WABCO Chief Executive Jacques Esculier said the deal confirms the company's strategy of globalizing its engineering, sourcing and manufacturing capabilities.

The Brussels-based company, which specializes in safety and control systems parts for commercial vehicles, had $2.8 billion in sales in 2008.