Brembo Brake Systems, Plymouth, Mich., announces that it has conducted the first pour at its new $100 million, 266,000 square-foot cast iron foundry, during which the furnaces were charged and molten iron was poured into molds for the first time. The first pour is a preliminary test that ensures all systems are functioning properly, and is the first step before production ramp-up begins.
Located in Homer, Michigan, the cast iron foundry is the fourth in Brembo’s worldwide foundry network, and the first Brembo cast iron foundry in North America. The foundry is also the third manufacturing facility that Brembo has expanded or built at the Homer manufacturing site. At full capacity, it will produce an annual output of 80,000 tons of brake disk castings.
Construction began in 2015, and the foundry is expected to be fully operational in 2017. The foundry is adjacent to Brembo’s 440,000 square-foot facility in which disks and drums are machined for the original equipment market. Brembo also operates a caliper and corner-module assembly facility at the same location.
“Having our own dedicated foundry in the United States allows us to have maximum control over our process and costs,” says Dan Sandberg, president and chief executive officer, Brembo North America. “Our customers benefit by having a dedicated, fully integrated manufacturing process for their brake components.”
Since purchasing the Homer disk plant in 2007, as part of the acquisition of Hayes Lemmerz’s brake business, Brembo has continuously expanded its footprint in Michigan. Brembo built its North American headquarters and R&D Center in Plymouth in 2009. The following year, the company built the Homer caliper assembly building. Since 2009, the Homer disk plant has been expanded three times.
