Italy-based Brembo will build a metalcasting facility and new production plant for aluminum calipers in Escobedo, Nuevo Leon, just outside of Monterrey, Mexico. The plant is expected to commence initial production in 2016 and be fully operational by the end of 2018. Brembo’s total investment in the facility from 2015 through 2017 will be $39 million.
The metalcasting facility will have a melting capacity of 14,000 tons, and the machining facility will be capable of producing two million aluminum calipers per year. Once fully operational, the plant will cover an area of 334,000 sq. ft., create approximately 500 new jobs and bring $120 million of turnover per year to the group.
The production from the plant will be destined for European, Asian and American original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) currently manufacturing or planning future manufacturing in Mexico, as well as those OEMs purchasing Brembo’s products in the U.S. This investment is consistent with Brembo’s continued growth in North America, which has included expansions of its manufacturing operations in Homer, Mich., as well as the recent announcement of a new cast-iron production facilty, also in Michigan, which is scheduled to be completed by 2017.
In 2014, the NAFTA region (Canada, the U.S., and Mexico) became Brembo’s top market, with sales for the first nine months of the year increasing nearly 25% over the same period of 2013. For this reason, the group continues to expand in the continent in not only the U.S., but also in Mexico, where the automotive market continues to grow.
Brembo supplies high performance brake systems for cars, commercial vehicles and motorbikes worldwide, as well as clutches, seats, seat belts and other components for racing. Today the company operates in 16 countries on three continents, with 22 production and business sites, and a pool of more than 7,700 employees, about 10% of whom are engineers and product specialists active in R&D. Brembo is the owner of the Brembo, Breco, AP, Bybre, Marchesini, and Sabelt brands and operates through the AP Racing brand.