Brembo races to North American supply deals

Brembo Racing and Roush Yates Performance Products announced the start of a partnership in North America, with the latter appointed as an authorised distributor of Brembo Racing high-performance brakes and accessories for the “Oval market”, including series such as Nascar. In additional motorsport news, Brembo has also been made the official supplier of Truck Sport Lutz Bernau (TSB) team at FIA European Truck Championship, marking the brake manufacturer’s entrance in the segment of racing trucks races. On the non-motorsport side Brembo, headquartered in Italy with plants in 15 countries, has also signed an agreement to acquire Perdriel SA, an Argentinian manufacturer of brake discs with plants in the Buenos Aires area, a workforce of about 150 and expected revenues of about €20 million.

Based on the agreement, signed in July, Brembo will take a 75 per cent share in the capital of the company, with option rights on the remaining 25 per cent exercisable after three years of the signature of the agreement. The overall outlay will amount to €3.3 million, to be paid upon execution of the agreement. Brembo has a share of almost 60 per cent of the Brazilian market in the production of brake discs and drums and is keen to maintain and reinforce its presence in South America, given the current and prospective growth of the Argentinian production and sale market.

Oval market access

Brembo’s alignment with Roush Yates Performance Products will enable it to access a diverse customer base, a superior distribution system and Brembo’s full line of racing products to give customers high-performance braking systems, according to the manufacturer. Luca Brusamolino, Brembo North America racing manager stated: “We are very pleased with the new partnership as we know that Roush Yates will bring an increased level of service to our motorsport customers in the Oval market.”

“We are proud to partner with a prestigious company such as Brembo,” reciprocated Bucky Gregory, vice president of sales at Roush Yates Performance Products. “This partnership will bring true value to our performance products division while continuing to support our commitment to the highest level of quality in our products.” The project will include a dedicated brake specialist; Gene “Gator” Morris has been appointed to help racers get the most out of their Brembo brakes. He will attend multiple short track and NASCAR races across the country assisting racers and educating them on the best brakes for their racing application. He has over 20 years’ experience in the motorsports industry.

Brembo presents new website

In addition to the acquisitions and partnerships, Brembo has also introduced a new website, with a new structure and new content. The company says it will feature more information and eye-catching graphics to celebrate 50 years in business. Brembo says “design, innovation and comfort have always been [its] main goals… and this is reflected perfectly in the Group’s new portal, which offers images of superb visual impact combined with high quality content, not to mention simple, intuitive browsing.”

Brembo.com is richer than in news, curiosities, information and technical data, which the company says will raise interest for “a global readership of enthusiasts”. It is dedicated entirely to the world of brakes, catering primarily for the institutional stakeholders of the Group, but now also with improved and enhanced content aimed at end users, organized in four areas dedicated respectively to the auto, moto, commercial vehicles and racing sectors.

Brembo says each section has more space for images, videos and animations illustrating OE products, more information on the aftermarket range — provided with mechanics in mind — and a greater focus on upgrades, dedicated predominantly to diehard enthusiasts and racers. There is also plenty of space given to the world of racing, with statistics, technical data, news and background on Formula 1, MotoGP, Superbike and Nascar events.

The company says it recorded “well over a million visits” to its website during the course of 2010, and it is now looking to increase the number of contacts significantly, not least though new social media. The home page has prominently placed links to the main social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, which Brembo says have provided the company with a direct line to end users.