Company announcement of Indian partnership soon
Wearing a seat belt in a moving vehicle is being made mandatory in India too since it is believed to have saved millions of lives 
worldwide. Not only is it important to wear a seat belt but also essential that the right kind of seat belt is used for different applications. Though the Indian Government has mandated the use of seat belts in some States, there is very little adherence to the law, while the other States are yet to take up the issue seriously. The result of this negligence is a record number of fatalities due to accidents involving vehicles, apart from injuring tens of thousands of road users in the country every year.
Fasching Salzburg GmbH, the preferred supplier of belts to leading seat producers worldwide, was established in Salzburg, Austria, around three decades ago when Italy introduced a new safety-belt retrofitting regulation. This was a major boost to the company which decided on major expansion in its product portfolio.
Fasching’s manufacturing facility location at Sopron, Hungary, bordering Vienna, aids production of safety belts and their components at a very competitive cost. Following the Government regulation of 2000, the company supplied safety belts to leading seat OEMs for their truck and coach passenger seats. This led to the company’s products getting recognised in the world market. Today, Fasching is the first-choice supplier to renowned seat brands like Kiel, Vogel-Magna, Fainsa, Sunviauto, INTAP, Ster, Brusa, etc.
New technology
With strong technological know-how, the company makes 2-point (lap belt), 3-point (lap-shoulder) and special (4- or 5-point and H configuration) safety belts for passenger vehicles, trucks and buses, with special focus on static, emergency locking retractor (ELR) and automatic locking retractor (ALR) belts for vehicles. The company had presented some of its recent new developments at Busworld Kortrijk.
The Fasching belts come with the revolutionary Anti-Rebound Blocking System (ARBS), a recent development that helps prevent 
unforced blocking of the retractor during retraction. Safety belts without ARBS are expected to get blocked during retraction, making it difficult for passengers to use. The blocking is completely eliminated in the ARBS system, thanks to a small window for the locking mechanism in its design. The window opens only during the forward movement of the belt and closes during its backward movement.
The ARBS system is a patented solution which is currently in serial production and is delivered to many of Fasching’s customers.
While standard ELR retractors could only be mounted in a particular angular position on the seat, as it gets locked during a change in angle (this function is mandatory as a roll over protection at slow speed/acceleration), Fasching has developed a new range of retractors with a special angle sensor. These retractors could be mounted on the backrest of the seat and used during the forward or backward backrest movement. This patented solution is called ‘Flex Sensor’ because the sensor compensates the range of the tilting angle of the adjustable backrest. In addition to giving more comfort to the passengers, this technology is very useful in providing additional safety during vehicle roll-over when the angular position of the retractor changes continuously.
In a move to overcome the threat of vandalism, Fasching has designed new covers for its retractors, making them much stronger and virtually indestructible. It has come up with an ALR retractor of the size of an ELR retractor which gives it a wider range of product options to offer its customers. Also developed is its own seat-integrated height-adjustment system for three point belts with automatic and manual solutions, at attractively low costs.
India focus
When it comes to the adoption of safety belts, India has to necessarily catch up with the developed markets like Europe where three-point ELR belts are commonly used.
Talking to Motorindia, Mr. Harald Peßl, Sales Director – Authorised Office & Member of the Managing Board, Fasching Salzburg GmbH, said: “In India, the trend is still with static belts. The next step will be the ALR, and when there is demand for more comfort, the market will switch to ELR.”
Fasching has been scouting for a partner in the Indian market for long and is very close to finalizing terms with an associate in the country. “We are in advanced talks with some companies in India and will announce our partnership soon. We are confident that once we start local production in India, it would give us huge cost benefits when compared to importing from our facility in Europe. Apart from focusing on the domestic market, we will also cater to markets like Thailand and Indonesia through our Indian partner”, added Mr. Peßl.