Federal-Mogul’s New ‘Expert Brands’ Engine Structure, OE Leadership Highlight 3 Major European Media Events

Each of the events – in Moscow, Prague, and Nürnberg – attracted the industry’s most respected journalists and publications and included detailed discussions not only of Federal-Mogul’s new aftermarket engine parts structure, but also fascinating introductions to the company’s extensive portfolio of OEM relationships.

“It’s fair to say that many of our media guests – and their constituents – were not aware of the scope of Federal-Mogul’s leadership within the OE sector,” said Mark Whitehead, Federal-Mogul marketing director, Engine & Sealing, Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Virtually every engine professional across Europe knows and respects the AE^®, Glyco^®, Goetze^®, and Nüral^® brands and product lines. Many, however, were not aware that these brands are all part of Federal-Mogul and that we are the preferred supplier of internal engine solutions to leading OEMs worldwide.”

Based on the extensive media coverage following each of the three events, Federal-Mogul’s Expert Brands approach is resonating at all levels of the industry. 

This strategy will streamline the company’s engine parts structure by grouping full-range product offerings under the brands that have achieved manufacturing mastery from the perspective of OEMs and other longtime customers. The new structure is as follows:

• AE:
 Top of engine, including valves and components, camtrain, and belts
• GLYCO: Bearings and bushings
• GOETZE: Piston rings and cylinder liners
• NURAL: Pistons and assemblies

Distributor benefits of this streamlined matrix include the elimination of brand overlap within key product segments; simplified stocking requirements; market-leading coverage within each brand/product category; faster new-product introductions and cataloguing; and the ability to easily identify the best, OE-based technology for each customer and repair.

Each of the Federal-Mogul Expert Brands has earned extensive recognition and customer loyalty at both the OE and aftermarket levels. This heritage of success is vital to engine re-builders and technicians who are challenged to compete with OES replacement engines and components. When it comes to true OE-quality engine parts, these professionals understand that the products manufactured under Federal-Mogul’s AE, Glyco, Goetze and Nüral brands are the same – if not better – than those used by European engine OEMs.

To underscore this OE-aftermarket synergy, media representatives attending the Nürnberg press event had the rare opportunity to tour Federal-Mogul’s impressive “White Plant,” where millions of Nüral pistons are manufactured each year and paired with the latest Goetze rings before being transported to OEM locations. Among the OE products journalists encountered during the tour were the latest pistons for BMW, Volkswagen and Audi diesel engines.

At the Moscow media briefing, nearly 50 reporters/editors were treated not only to introductions of the Expert Brands structure and Federal-Mogul’s latest engine parts/power cylinder solutions, but also an opportunity to test their driving skills at one of Europe’s largest indoor kart centers.

In Prague, nearly 25 editors met with Federal-Mogul technical and marketing personnel to explore the benefits of the new engine brand strategy and to discuss the aftermarket’s growing reliance on full-line manufacturers who develop products in partnership with OEMs and aftermarket customers. The Prague session ended with perhaps an even more challenging form of competition: remote control cars.

All three sessions also included discussions of the parts counterfeiting threat facing distributors and their customers. Federal-Mogul representatives used these opportunities to announce the company’s innovative and aggressive new anti-counterfeit program for engine components, which comprises several leading-edge package security features as well as a user-friendly internet-based product verification tool for use by parts professionals.

“The Federal-Mogul engine parts business has never been a more powerful business tool for distributors 
and engine professionals,” Whitehead said. “The overwhelming response to our media sessions demonstrates there is a real need among customers for a single-source, total-coverage solution that will help professionals deliver OE-type performance through quality engine repairs. Federal-Mogul’s Expert Brands are that solution.”