Safety Components Secures Deal With TRW on Air Bags

Safety Components International Inc. said Monday it has secured a preliminary agreement to extend its contract to supply air bags to TRW Vehicle Safety Systems Inc. through the end of 1999.

The deal provides Safety Components with a significant financial cushion. The fast-growing automotive air bag maker sold $49 million worth of bags to TRW last year, said Hardy Myers, Safety Component’s chief financial officer.

The company, which also makes ordnance and related defense products, posted total sales last year of $95 million, up from $52 million in its fiscal 1994.

Safety Components supplies about a third of the passenger-side air bags TRW uses in systems it sells to domestic and foreign car makers. Safety Components is attempting to increase its presence as an air bag supplier to overseas car makers and is in the process of acquiring a major European air bag maker based in Germany.

The TRW supplier contract extension comes at a time many auto components makers are cutting back on the number of outside suppliers. It would give Safety Components an additional 30 months of sales to TRW.