Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of
automotive brake
A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction.
Background ...
systems, especially for
high-performance cars and
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
s. Its head office is in
Curno
Curno ( Bergamasque: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about southwest of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2006, it had a population of 7,590 and an area ...
,
Bergamo
Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
History
Brembo was established in
Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 by Emilio Bombassei and Italo Breda (father and uncle, respectively, to the current Chairman
Alberto Bombassei
Alberto Bombassei (born October 1940) is an Italian billionaire businessman, the chairman and president of Brembo, an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems. He controls 53.5% of Brembo.
He was born in Vicenza, Italy. His father Emili ...
). The company was named after the
Brembo river
The Brembo ( Lombard: ''Brèmb'' or ''Brèmp'') is a Italian river, a left tributary of the Adda, which runs entirely within the Province of Bergamo in the Lombardy Region.
River
The Brembo springs from the Bergamo Alps at the foot of ...
, as Bombassei lived in a village on the coast of the river before moving to Milan. Soon after Brembo was formed, it specialized in
disc brake
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hol ...
s, which were imported from the UK at the time. The company entered into a supply contract with
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
in 1964 and became
Moto Guzzi
Moto Guzzi is an Italian motorcycle manufacturer and the oldest European manufacturer in continuous motorcycle production.
Established in 1921 in Mandello del Lario, Italy, the company is noted for its historic role in Italy's motorcycling ma ...
's brake component supplier in 1966. In the 1980s, Brembo also began supplying brakes to
BMW,
Chrysler
Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...
,
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
,
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
,
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
, and
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
. Brembo went public on the
Milan Stock Exchange in 1995.
In 2000, Brembo purchased the UK-based racing brake and clutch manufacturer AP Racing (a former division of
Automotive Products
Automotive Products, commonly abbreviated to AP, was an automotive industry components company set up in 1920 by Edward Boughton, Willie Emmott and Denis Brock, to import and sell American-made components to service the fleet of ex-military truc ...
). On November 9, 2007, Brembo's North American subsidiary acquired the Automotive Brake Components division of Hayes Lemmerz. The approximately €39.6-million sale included approximately 250 employees and production facilities in
Homer, Michigan
Homer is a village in Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,668 at the 2010 census.
History
Milton Barney arrived from Lyons, New York the summe ...
and
Apodaca, Mexico.
An official press release on May 21, 2014, announced an €83-million expansion of the Michigan facility. Later that year, on December 2, Brembo also announced plans to invest €32 million into a 31,500-square-meter production facility, projected to produce two million aluminum calipers annually. The expectation was initial operation by 2016 and full operation by the end of 2018.
On March 5, 2015, Brembo's deputy chairman, Matteo Tiraboschi, reported the company's 2014 sales growth of 15% up to €1.8 billion and a net profit increase of 45% to €129.1 million. He also reported the company was exploring acquiring assets, with a focus on the automotive and aviation sectors.
The company's corporate headquarters are in Stezzano, and the company has more than 10,634 employees within Italy and at branches in Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, the US, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. As of 2019, Brembo was present in 14 countries worldwide.
Products
Brembo specializes in performance braking systems and components as well as conducting research on braking systems. Brembo sells over 1,300 products worldwide and is known for their
aftermarket automotive brake components, including calipers,
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, rotors, and brake lines. Brembo owns the foundries that produce their initial materials and supply the manufacturing plants. In all other markets, the company controls the entire production system—from raw materials through distribution. The company holds
QS9000
QS9000 was a quality standard developed by a joint effort of the " Big Three" American automakers, General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. It was introduced to the industry in 1994. It has been adopted by several heavy truck manufacturers in the U.S. ...
and
ISO 9001
The ISO 9000 family is a set of five quality management systems (QMS) standards that help organizations ensure they meet customer and other stakeholder needs within statutory and regulatory requirements related to a product or service. ISO ...
certifications.
Motorsport
A variety of
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
teams, including
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
, use Brembo brakes. Brembo also supplies the majority of
MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
teams; the
Gresini squad used Nissin brakes during the 2014 season. Brembo was also an official brake supplier for the
IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
from the
2012 season until the 2016 season; during the 2017 season, Brembo supplied calipers only. During the
next season, Brembo supplied entire braking systems to all
Spark Racing Technology
Spark Racing Technology (SRT) is a motorsport manufacturer specialized in the development and engineering of high-performance e-mobility cars and modules. The company was founded by Frédéric Vasseur to become the sole chassis supplier for the ...
Gen2 cars in
Formula E.
Since 2005, Brembo has been an official brake caliper supplier for the
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccle ...
and the
FIA Formula 2 Championship
The FIA Formula 2 Championship is a second-tier single-seater championship organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Held on racing circuits, the championship was introduced in 2017, following the rebranding of the lo ...
. Since 2010, Brembo has been an official whole brake supplier for the
GP3 Series
The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and th ...
and the
FIA Formula 3 Championship
The FIA Formula 3 Championship is a third-tier international single-seater racing championship and organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for the FIA Formula 1 W ...
. Brembo is the exclusive supplier of braking systems for the
MotoE World Cup
The FIM Enel MotoE World Championship (formerly known as the MotoE World Cup) is a class of motorcycle racing that uses only electric motorcycles. The series is sanctioned by the FIM and the inaugural season in 2019 was due to support MotoG ...
.
AP Racing brakes are currently used on GT500-class cars in the
Super GT
Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super GT in 2005. It is ...
series as well as cars competing in the
DTM. Brembo is the official brake supplier for the
Supercars Championship.
Brembo Group brands
* AP — Car brakes
* AP Racing — Racing motorcycle and car
clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
es and brakes
* Breco —
Aftermarket discs and
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
* Brembo —
High end
In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to ...
brakes
* ByBre — Small to midsize
scooter and motorcycle brakes in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South East Asia
*Marchesini — Wheels
* Villar — Aftermarket discs
* SBS Friction —
OEM
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
and
aftermarket brake pads Brake pads are a component of disc brakes used in automotive and other applications. Brake pads are composed of steel backing plates with friction material bound to the surface that faces the disc brake rotors.
Function
Brake pads convert the ki ...
,
brake discs and
clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
kits for
motorcycles
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
,
scooter, racing and
UTVs/
SSVs/
ATVs
See also
*
List of Italian companies
Italy is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe with the third largest nominal GDP in the Eurozone and the eighth largest in the world. As an advanced economy the country also has the sixth worldwide national wealth and it is ranked third fo ...
References
External links
*
{{Automotive industry in Italy
Auto parts suppliers of Italy
Manufacturing companies established in 1961
Companies listed on the Borsa Italiana
Automotive motorsports and performance companies
Italian companies established in 1961
Italian brands
Companies based in Bergamo
Motorcycle parts manufacturers
Multinational companies headquartered in Italy
Brakes
1995 initial public offerings