TRW Gets ‘Smart’ With $418-Million Deal for Air Bag Firms

TRW Inc., the world’s largest producer of automobile air bags, is betting $418 million that it can become the leader in the development of “smart” bags.

That’s the price Cleveland-based TRW will pay for control of two companies owned by Canada-based Magna International Inc., which makes air bag components and other automotive parts.

Smart air bags employ sensors and/or other electronic devices to vary bag deployment speeds based on the weight of the person sitting in front of the bag. They are different from conventional air bags, which deploy at rates of speed ranging from 140 mph to 200 mph.

The companies coming under TRW’s wing are Magna’s Germany-based MST Automotive Automobil-Sichterheitstechnik and Temic Bayern-Chemie Airbag. The Magna companies, which employ 2,500 people, are expected to have sales of $688 million for 1996.

TRW and Magna also plan to operate a joint technical research center to speed up the development of smart air bags, as well as other advanced vehicle crash systems, TRW President Peter Hellman said Monday.

“The intent of the technology center is to optimize safety in crash-protection systems, including air bags and safety belts,” Hellman said.

Conventional air bags have been credited with saving at least 1,600 lives over the last decade.

But their aggressive deployment speeds have also been blamed for the deaths of 32 children and 20 adults.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is urging auto makers and their suppliers to begin making smart air bag systems widely available by the 1999 model year.

Smart-bag development programs are also underway at General Motors Corp.’s Delco Electronics Corp., IEE Automotive USA in Ohio and Chicago-based Morton International.

IEE, a division of O’Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt Armoring Co., is already installing versions of its smart-bag systems in some Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars.