The 2010 Car and Accessory Trader (CAT) Industry Award for ‘Green Innovation’, voted for by the independent automotive aftermarket, has been won by Klarius. The Klarius campaign to turn ‘British racing green’ was spearheaded by a combination of the UK R&D centre and the extremely pro-active UK sales team developing a racing catalytic converter for road car based race series.

Eight awards were up for grabs, CAT readers – and motorists – voted for the people and companies who made the biggest contribution to the industry and/or helped business to flourish. Some 100 people attended the lunch ceremony, along with guest speakers and industry personalities on Friday, January 22 at the Lensbury Hotel in Teddington, where the winners were announced.

Doug Bentley, the head of the Klarius UK R&D Centre received the award on behalf of Klarius. “I’d like to thank everyone who voted for us, we are really pleased to gain the industry recognition for our green initiatives. The design for the race series catalytic converter was based on our road car technology, but improving the efficiency and the gas flow through the catalyst matrix in order to keep emissions low, but the power high.”

Paul Hannah, Business Development Director for the Klarius Group added, “Winning the award is a great boost to all the people at Klarius who are working towards improved efficiency and better product performance. I hope it also adds weight to the still ongoing issue of the huge reductions in pollution that would be possible if the UK aftermarket only used fuel efficient, fully type-approved exhausts, as they do in the rest of Europe.”

Klarius, manufacturers over 2 million replacement exhausts and catalytic converters per year in its UK factories, and also sponsors motorsport events such the Ma5da Racing, Mazda MX5 Championship, and the BTRDA UK rally series. Klarius also manufactures exhaust systems and CATs for road car based race series, so the link between the commercial world and the racing world is a very real one for the company.

The Klarius racing CAT which is available to all road car based race series dramatically reduces harmful emissions without adversely affecting the performance of a race car. Unlike road cars, racing cars are not required by law to have a catalytic converter fitted; Most CATs will reduce a cars power which is unsuitable for racing. With the new racing CATs Klarius is hoping to prove that Britain can lead the way in green gracing.

The racing catalytic converter for the Mazda MX5 has been developed to work with a customised exhaust system that Klarius has also designed for use by the Mazda MX5 racing championship. The CATs and exhausts draw on the design and manufacture expertise of the mass produced products from Klarius aftermarket replacement products that are designed to match or exceed the quality and performance of the original equipment (OE) manufacturer’s parts.

Both the commercial road car and the ‘racing green’ CATs and exhausts from Klarius are constructed using light weight and highly corrosion resistant materials and could be used for a host of other road car based racing vehicles. Anyone interested in talking to Klarius about developing a unit for another model or car can contact the UK sales team directly.

About THE KLARIUS GROUP

Formed in 2007,Klarius operates three manufacturing production facilities and a research and development Centre dedicated to the Emission Control Technology located in the UK. Added to that are European warehousing and four strong independent distribution platforms: in the UK, France, Germany and Spain. The Klarius technical centre has its own approved test track (the only parts manufacturer to have one) for undertaking type approval of parts. See www.klarius.eu for more information on Klarius. Klarius Group has over 1 400 employees across Europe. The Group offers 100 000 references to the aftermarket business. Klarius Group delivers 40 000 parts to over 136 countries everyday.

Editor Contact

DMA Europa Ltd. : Roland Renshaw
Tel: +44 (0)1299 405454 Fax: +44 (0)1299 403092
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Email: roland@dmaeuropa.com

Company Contact

Klarius Group Ltd. : Véronique Auger
Tel: + 44 (0)1524 751 292 Fax: +44 (0)1524 751 604
Web: www.klarius.eu
Email: Veronique.Auger@Klarius.EU