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Brembo plant in Homer MI supplies carbonceramic brake rotors for new Chevrolet Corvette Z07 Performance Package variant
<p><strong>Brembo plant in Homer, MI, supplies carbon-ceramic brake rotors for new Chevrolet Corvette Z07 Performance Package variant.</strong></p>

Once-Exclusive Brembo Adapts to High Volume

Recognized for producing brakes for high-performance cars, Italy-based Brembo has expanded its product strategy to include high-volume mainstream vehicles. But BMW, Mercedes and the new Chevrolet Corvette remain core customers.

HOMER, MI – Further demonstrating the improving fortunes for auto suppliers trying to keep up with customer demand, Brembo North America expands its brake plant here for the fifth time since acquiring it from Hayes Lemmerz in 2007.

Generally recognized over the years for producing brakes for high-performance cars, Italy-based Brembo has expanded its product strategy to include high-volume mainstream vehicles.

For instance, Chrysler minivans and Ford Fusion sedans use Brembo brake rotors, which explains how the supplier has become one of the top sources worldwide for brake rotors.

Brembo manufactured 10 million of them here last year and plans for 12.5 million this year, nearly all for North American customers.

Demand also is climbing for Brembo’s distinctive calipers, which often are red, with the brand name visible through alloy wheels. The plant here delivered 300,000 calipers and full corner modules (including rotor and knuckle) last year and expects 400,000 this year.

Since 2007, employment here has climbed from 105 to 450. During the recession of 2008 and 2009, Brembo, which is traded publicly on the Milan stock exchange, says it was profitable.

Brembo stepped up its presence in the market for foundation brakes as one of the top players, Robert Bosch, was exiting because profit margins are thin, compounded at the time by declining volumes. Rivals TRW and Continental remained.

But Brembo’s biggest advantage over the established giants was entering the segment without extensive legacy costs and large amounts of capacity going unused.

New Dynamics in Brake Market

In the 1990s, brake producers tried to market their ability to deliver an entire system, including the corner module, the actuation components such as the master cylinder and hydraulics and even the electronics as antilock brakes were becoming standard and active safety systems were arriving.

But that model crumbled, and brake systems often are sourced piecemeal these days.

Brembo doesn’t intend to reach into the area of actuation or electronics. Instead, it wants to focus exclusively on its expertise with rotors and calipers. Automakers have discovered the benefits of integrating established premium brands in their vehicles, such as Bose, Infinity and Fender audio systems.

“They now realize the consumer is somewhat sophisticated, and the aftermarket has pushed them to look for some of the branded products that are somehow associated with performance or high quality or high-end capability,” Daniel Sandberg, president and CEO of Brembo North America, tells WardsAuto during an interview here before the latest plant expansion was dedicated.

“Brembo fits into that,” he says. “Our business has grown quite a bit because of the climate. People want exciting products, performance products. It’s a great time to be in the automotive business.”

Suppliers have struggled to make money on foundation brakes because rotors and calipers are perceived as commodities. Brembo doesn’t view them that way.

Instead, Brembo’s calipers are made of aluminum and fixed in place, rather than conventional iron calipers that often float or slide. Aluminum calipers are about 35% lighter.

And rotors are not just iron. Some are carbon-ceramic, and some have aluminum “hats” or hubs with bolts for attaching the wheel. Some rotors are made in two pieces of different materials, then mechanically pressed together, to reduce weight.

Many high-end rotors are cross-drilled for better ventilation to prevent warping during extreme conditions, and special coatings also are applied to prevent corrosion.

In all, Brembo produces 80 different types of rotors here, with a current daily output of about 55,000 units.

Depending on demand, the plant runs three full shifts, occasionally seven days a week.

Brembo estimates 95% of new light vehicles for the U.S. market use disc brakes while the remainder relies on old-school drums.

Even pickups from the Detroit Three, including the redesigned ’15 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, have disc brakes at all four corners.

For context, the plant here produced 10,000 drum brakes last year at the same time it manufactured 10 million rotors.

Brembo Brakes on Pickup Trucks?

Brembo executives would love to see their brakes on light-duty pickup trucks in the future, but for now it’s only cars and GM’s heavy-duty trucks, which employ discs.

Sandberg says the trend toward premium pickups could spell opportunity for his company as consumers seek better braking performance and may want a sporty look for their trucks.
“We’re starting to see some demand for full-blown premium brake systems (for pickups),” he says. “They’re looking good. The wheels are huge, the windows (openings in the wheels) are huge and people want that brake to look good.”

At nearly full capacity, the plant here cannot accommodate a high-volume truck contract, Sandberg admits.

“We’ll expand again if we have to or set up another machining plant if we have to, whatever works well for us from an efficiency standpoint,” he says.

“We’re not afraid to invest. We want our customers to commit to us. If they tell us they will give us a program for three years, I don’t know if I’ll invest. If they give it to us long-term, that’s something we’ll talk about.”

Brembo will continue reaching out to customers for high-volume contracts while focusing on its core customers, such as BMW, Mercedes and General Motors.

This plant delivers brake rotors for nearly every BMW and Mercedes produced in the U.S.

The new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray gets all 48 of its available brake systems from here, painted in different colors and offering varying size, materials and performance levels.

Brembo supplied carbon-ceramic brake rotors for the limited-run Corvette ZR1 beginning in 2008 and now is supplying similar stoppers for the track-focused Z07 Performance Package variant of the new Z06.

Despite the growth, Sandberg says the supplier will be careful to avoid getting bloated.

“We’re playing in the premium performance side of the market on the caliper side, so we’re kind of a niche player,” he says. “But that niche has gotten quite large.”

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