First Line's Borg & Beck brake component expansion

First Line’s Borg & Beck braking programme was launched by First Line in February after more than a year’s work. The production team behind the range aimed to ensure that the programme “provides installers with a range of high quality, matching original equipment components designed to rival the ‘genuine’ or OES parts offered by the franchised dealer,” the company says. This meant that when an OES pad set incorporated a chamfered edge, shim, slot, or included a wear indicator lead, then the Borg & Beck pad set would do so too.

Since its introduction, the programme has gained plaudits from many of First Line’s existing customers as well as gaining some significant new customers, the company says. It was important that a programme was launched into such a competitive category as braking was comprehensive in its coverage, but it was also crucial that the coverage continues to expand in line with the needs of the market.

As a result, the initial range of 1,347 discs – which in the interest of safety for both motorists and workshops, Borg & Beck specifies in pairs – 1,252 pad sets, 352 pad and shoe fitting kits, 439 brake shoes and 213 brake drums has grown substantially over the last six months. Bringing new parts numbers into the range quickly is one of the hallmarks of the First Line business over the last thirty years and the Borg & Beck braking programme is therefore no different as 180 new pads/shoes have been introduced in the last three months alone.

In terms of new products, as opposed to range extensions, the most recent addition has been the introduction of a range of matching original equipment quality pre-assembled brake shoe kits.

Borg & Beck brake shoe kits save workshops both time and money as each kit contains all the components the job requires in a pre-assembled form and supplied in a single box. The kits reduce installation time and therefore deliver a labour rate for the workshop, but they also eliminate the risk of ordering the wrong parts, as each kit has a single reference number.

Although most of the applications for the kits are for older vehicles because brake shoe/drum technology dropped out of favour with the vehicle manufacturers about 10-15 years ago, for economic reasons there has been somewhat of a renaissance in the last five years as the manufacturers compete for every penny, particularly for the entry level vehicle where value is the key.

As a result, the range of almost 100 part numbers also includes brake shoe kits for the Citroen C1/Peugeot 1007/Toyota Yaris ’05 onwards, Vauxhall Corsa ‘06 onwards, Toyota Yaris ‘06 onwards, Citroen Nemo/Peugeot Bippa ’08 onwards and Ford Fiesta ‘08 onwards. Since Borg & Beck strongly recommends that workshops always replace braking components in pairs, each kit consists of two pre-assembled shoe sets, two cylinders, a set of hold down springs and clips and a sachet of grease.

The entire braking programme is also supported by a detailed product catalogue, which clearly sets out the information needed to ensure the correct identification of each component in the range. The catalogue is also available through the company’s online Webcat facility, which can be accessed at its website: www.borgandbeck.co.uk.