Mercedes Benz

Auria Solutions' new sound and vibration deadening material cuts 13 pounds from a vehicle's weight. Auria Solutions has begun converting its 10 North American plants to supply a new type of sound and vibration deadening material for General Motors' T1 full-size pickup and SUV platform. The contract is one of the industry's biggest, requiring Auria — the soft trim and vehicle acoustics business spun off last year by International Automotive Components — to produce more than 1.2 million of the large acoustics packages a year. Auria CEO Brian Pour told Automotive News that the GM contract is just the beginning. Auria is also winning contracts to supply the material to other unidentified North American auto programs and is in talks with European customers about it. Auria had the technology ace up its sleeve last year when the company recapitalized as a spinoff, with China's Shanghai Shenda Co. taking a 70 percent ownership stake and IAC retaining 30 percent. The new a...