AKEBONO REPORT 2014

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with next-generation technologies; continuous drastic cost reductionand its global implementation; and the acceleration of globalizationencompassing Japan, North America, Europe and Asia. Forfiscal 2014, the second year of this plan, we have laid out threecritical policies: establishing a global product supply networkoriented toward two key fields, namely, brakes for high-performance(HP) commercial vehicles and brakes for cars produced using globalplatform (GPF) systems; re-creating Akebono Brake IwatsukiManufacturing Co., Ltd. (Iwatsuki Manufacturing) as a key domesticproduction base. Iwatsuki Manufacturing must simultaneouslyserve as an information hub for the global dissemination of ourmanufacturing technologies and as a center for recruiting andnurturing a motivated and successful workforce?our key resourceas we aim for true globalization. In this way, we will tackle challengesidentified during the plan’s first year of implementation.Establishing a Global Supply Network Oriented Toward TwoKey Fields?Meeting the ChallengesOur first annual policy for fiscal 2014?establishing a global supplynetwork oriented toward two key fields?is at the core of akebonoNew Frontier 30 - 2013. In the plan’s first year, we initiated concreteprograms aimed at promoting this initiative, developingprototypes while launching new production lines. In March 2013,we began delivering brake systems for the McLaren P1TM ultrahigh-performance road car produced by U.K.-based McLaren, wellbefore we ever began supplying products for HP commercialvehicles. Orders later rolled in from European automakers for brakeproducts for use in HP commercial vehicles, spurring on our effortsto establish a solid supply structure in this field.We launched an Indonesian production facility that producesbrakes for cars produced using GPF systems for a JapaneseOne Team, One akebono Pursuing One GoalWe marked the 85th anniversary of our founding in 2014. Lookingback on our long history, three major phases of transition areapparent. The first phase was marked by a technological alliancewith Bendix Corporation, then a world-leading brake manufacturerbased in the United States. In 1960, when Japan was on the brinkof large-scale motorization, we entered into this alliance and wereable to use it as a springboard toward becoming a comprehensivebrake manufacturer. The second phase came in 1986 when weestablished a joint venture with the U.S.-based automaker GeneralMotors Corporation. This enabled us to establish an overseasstronghold in Kentucky and marked the first of our global investments.We entered the third phase in 2010 with the acquisition ofthe North American brake business of Robert Bosch LLC, thelargest automotive component producer in the world. This investmentwas our first step toward true globalization.Our goal has always been to accelerate our globalexpansion soin November 2012 we established a new midterm business planentitled “akebono New Frontier 30 - 2013 (aNF 30 - 2013).” Thiswas a major step toward becoming a true global player. We knowthat to achieve such status, we must integrate all of our associatesinto “One Team,” regardless of their nationalities, education,customs or value systems. Accordingly, we have embraced ourdiversity and are working together to create “One akebono,” aunique and strong workforce that pursues “One Goal,” the goalof satisfying the needs of customers around the world. I have asense of urgency about achieving this ideal because becoming atrue global player will determine Akebono’s future 15 years fromnow?the year of its centennial.akebono New Frontier 30 - 2013, a three-year plan launched infiscal 2013, sets forth three priority measures: making a differenceTop MessageThe brake system usedfor the McLaren P1TMultra-high-performanceroad carAs We Celebrate Our 85th Anniversary,We Look to the Future with an Awarenessof Our Heritage as We Strive Together toAchieve True Globalization

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