Once again, the Voith Retarder stands on the winner's pedestal as "Best  Brand": this year, the readers of the technical magazines "lastauto omnibus", "trans aktuell" and "Fernfahrer" voted the proven braking system to  the number-one spot. The award ceremony took place on Thursday 24  May at the Stuttgart State Gallery. The prizes were presented in a total of  22 categories, based on criteria such as brand quality, brand awareness  and brand empathy. 

In the category "Retarders", the hydrodynamic, wear-free continuous brake from Voith succeeded. The Voith Retard er team is delighted about the trust shown by commercial vehicle operators and drivers, which is once again confirmed by this renewed award. Alongside economy and safety, the ongoing development of the Voith Retarder also focuses strongly on sustainability.

For truck and coach drivers who spend several hours on the road every day, the Retarder is a guarantor for safety. T hey can rely on cool, fully functional service brakes in the event of an emergency. For fleet operators, aspects such as economy and sustainability are particularly important when they select a retarder. To them, it offers both ecological and commercial advantages: it increases the average speed of the vehicle and reduces fuel consumption. A fact that is impressively underlined by more than 600 000 Voith Retarders delivered so far.

With mileages of 1.5 million kilometers, vehicles without retarder have to visit the workshop up to five times more often - depending on their application -, in order to have their brake discs and linings replaced. This means that the investment in a retarder often pays off after only 1 to 2 years. The retarder also helps to reduce brake dust emissions by up to 80 percent. Apart from the classic Voith Retarder using oil as an operating medium, the Voith portfolio also features two Aquatarders for heavy commer cial vehicles of up to 40 tons. These Retarders run with the cooling agent of the vehicle and are maintenance-free. For lighter commercial vehicles in the 7.5 to 16 ton-class, Voith offers the maintenance-free Magnetarder.

Voith sets standards in the markets energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transportation & automotive. Founded in 1867, Voith employs almost 40 000 people, generates €5.6 billion in sales, operates in about 50 countries around the world and is today one of the biggest family-owned companies in Europe.