Torotrak inks licence agreement

has entered into a licence agreement and an engineering development agreement with a European truck and bus manufacturer to use Torotrak’s full-toroidal traction drive technology in its commercial vehicle range. The client’s identity has not been announced.

The total value of the licence fee and subsequent payments is in excess of £7m, with more than half of this sum being payable during this financial year. Under the terms of the licence agreement the client has secured the right to use Torotrak’s technology to develop and manufacture transmissions for worldwide sales in their vehicle range. This includes a period of exclusivity to develop Torotrak’s technology for use in the field of heavy commercial vehicles.

In addition to the Licence Agreement, the parties have also entered into an engineering development agreement whereby Torotrak will undertake a prototype engineering programme for the client which will span a number of years.

Dick Elsy, Torotrak’s CEO, said, “These agreements with this prestigious customer highlight the capability and economic benefit of Torotrak’s technology in the commercial vehicle market. We are delighted to have secured this new client, recognised as a market leader and for their world-class engineering skills in their field, as a Torotrak licensee.

‘With these new agreements, we have taken a further, major step in the repositioning of Torotrak as a provider of toroidal transmission technology for a wide range of product and market applications. The successful implementation of our diversification strategy during the past three years has moved Torotrak a long way from its single focus and dependency on the automotive market, and the Company is substantially stronger as a direct result.’