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[June 2009]
Brembo and SGL Group Join Forces in Carbon Ceramic Brake Discs
Brembo SpA (Stezzano, Italy) – a world leader in high performance brake systems – and SGL Group (Wiesbaden, Germany) have announced the contract closing of a joint venture for carbon ceramic brake discs, with each parent company owning a 50% share in the new entity. For this purpose, the current subsidiaries Brembo Carbon Ceramic Brake Systems SpA and SGL Brakes GmbH will combine their activities. The joint venture operates under the name Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic Brakes and will become operational effective 1 June 2009.
The new headquarters will be in the Milan area. The merger of activities has already been approved by the relevant authorities.
The objective of the joint venture is to further develop carbon ceramic brake systems as well as to produce and market carbon ceramic brake discs exclusively for the passenger car and commercial vehicle markets. The joint venture will also focus on the automated production of the next generation of carbon ceramic brake discs for the broader car market.
With approximately 350 employees at its sites in Meitingen (Germany) and Stezzano (Italy), the joint venture expects sales of approximately €70 million in 2009. Brembo SpA and SGL Group announced their intent in April to merge their respective carbon ceramic brake disc activities into a joint venture. The joint venture will be headed by two General Managers, Antonio Braiato from Brembo and Bruno Toniolo from SGL Group, who both have extensive management experience within each respective parent company.
The current customer base includes, among others, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Daimler, Ferrari, General Motors, Lamborghini and Porsche.
Robert Koehler, CEO of SGL Group, said: “Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic Brakes will be the worldwide benchmark in technology, design, development and production of carbon ceramic brake discs for sports and luxury cars. After intense efforts made in recent years, the carbon ceramic disc technology is now ready to be applied on a wider scale. Brembo is the ideal partner for SGL Group to bring this innovative product to the next level of industrialization and commercialization. The joint venture is in line with our Carbon Fibers & Composites growth strategy which is to cooperate in the down-stream businesses with established industry partners and to bundle know how so as to
better leverage the market potential to offer superior solutions to our customers”.Alberto Bombassei, CEO of Brembo SpA, said: “I am especially proud to announce this joint venture, which will give a critical boost to the next generation of carbon ceramic brake discs. The combination of our expertise in top level brake systems and carbon ceramic disc application with SGL Group’s outstanding knowledge of the materials will allow this type of product to be applied in a broader market segment. Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic Brakes marks a further step in Brembo’s development towards systems with even greater performance and light weight that meet the changing requirements of the automotive world, including respect for the environment”.
ENDS