Friction material manufacturer Fras-le North America Inc. has launched its air disc brake pad program for the North American aftermarket. This launch is an expansion of the company’s "Work Truck and Fleet Disc Brake Pad Program," which kicked off in May.

Fras-le’s new air disc brake pad program, sold under the Extreme Service brand, includes 11 part numbers, covering more than 59 applications, on 12 brake systems. Fras-le air disc brake pads, made of OE quality friction material, offer reliable, quiet, durable and longer life performance. This line of asbestos-free friction material was especially developed to meet the needs of heavy-duty and commercial vehicles, and meets the European ECE-R90 quality standard, which requires all safety related replacement parts to perform within certain parameters of the Original Equipment (OE) specification.

With this portfolio expansion, the company now offers a complete line of hydraulic and air disc brake pads for class 1c-8 vehicles and is positioned to help warehouse distributors’ expand friction sales into new markets, according to the company. Fras-le is the OEM friction supplier on many medium-duty work trucks in the U.S., and has been Meritor's heavy-duty friction partner for more than 15 years.

When compared against two major OE competitors, Fras-le’s PD/1931 FF friction material delivered less pad and disc wear, according to the company. Fras-le also uses the Util Group SL5 Retention Backing Plates, (a mechanical attachment system), specially designed to drastically reduce sheer, providing the end user with longer pad life. Longer lasting friction material allows the end user to perform fewer brake jobs over the life of the vehicle which provides cost savings.

Fras-le's Work Truck and Fleet Disc Brake Pad Program provides distributors with a complete sales tool kit to serve this fleet segment, along with marketing and technical support and training resources. In addition, Fras-le has dedicated fleet brake specialists – a team of work truck experts – to serve as a liaison between fleets and distributors.

Extreme Service and Magnum Pro make up Fras-le’s aftermarket brake pad line for medium-duty vehicles and fleets in North America. Both products outperform the competition on measures like stopping power, noise, pad and rotor wear, wheel dust and fade resistance. Extreme Service is engineered for severe-duty applications, and is available for both air and hydraulic disc brake systems. Magnum Pro is the professional’s semi-metallic choice for hydraulic disc brake systems. Both product lines are designed especially for medium-duty vehicles and fleets.