Kiekert has developed an industry-first LED door latch with safety and security features, says a company press release. The new system has an LED warning light built into the latch itself making it clearly visible to other drivers and pedestrians when a vehicle's door is being opened and closed. The new design is lighter and is easier to install while assembly. The LED’s color and brightness can be changed to adapt to customer preferences. The product also has child- and emergency-lock options and the door-latch LEDs can be made to flash to enhance visibility and safety.
Kiekert’s CEO Dr. Karl Krause said, “Kiekert is the first OEM supplier to integrate LED lighting directly into a door latch. Our new LED latch is another example of intelligent, energy-efficient Kiekert technology that combines safety and lightweight design.”
Krause said that Kiekert has recently made several major product announcements, which includes a new tonneau cover latch for pick-up trucks. This product will go into production in 2015.
Significance: Kiekert has also expanded its line-up of Beta latches especially designed for growing markets of South America and the Asia-Pacific region. Germany-based Kiekert is one of the leading manufacturers of automotive locking systems. Kiekert says that it has developed and produced more than 1.5 billion automotive locking systems till date. The company has also been strengthening its presence in eastern Europe. In May last year, Kiekert opened a new automotive locking systems plant in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia.
