Brembo to invest €32 million in Mexico caliper plant

Leading Italian brake brand, Brembo, has announced plans to invest 32 million euros in an aluminium brake caliper manufacturing facility in Escobedo, Nuevo Leon, just outside of Monterrey, Mexico. According to the company, the plant will include a new aluminium foundry and machining facility capable of producing two million calipers per year destined for the company’s customers in the NAFTA region. The foundry will have a melting capacity of 14,000 tons. The facility will cover 31,500 square metres and when fully operational is expected to generate an annual turnover of 100 million euros. The plant is expected to commence initial production in 2016 and be fully operational by the end of 2018.

Plant outpput will be destined for European, Asian and American original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s) currently manufacturing or planning future manufacturing in Mexico, as well as those OEMs purchasing Brembo’s products in the US. This investment is consistent with Brembo’s continued growth in North America, which has included expansions of its manufacturing operations in Homer, Michigan as well as the recent announcement of a new cast-iron foundry, also in Michigan, which is scheduled to be completed by 2017.

In 2014, the NAFTA region (Canada, USA, Mexico) became Brembo’s top market, with sales for the first nine months of the year increasing nearly 25 per cent over the same period of 2013. For this reason, the group continues to expand in the continent in not only the USA, but also in Mexico, where the automotive market continues to grow.

“With the opening of the new plant in Mexico, Brembo confirms its strong determination to continue growth in North America,” stated the group’s chairman, Alberto Bombassei. “The demand for aluminium calipers, expanding quickly outside of Europe, opens up opportunities for further development in North America for Brembo, which has always been a leader in this technology. We can take advantage of this opportunity only if we invest in production capacity close to our customers in the local market”.