Executives from Italy, including Managing Director Mauro Pessi and Motorcycle Business Unit Director Paolo Magri, joined the Brembo India representative, Mr. Shrikant Pangarkar, to inaugurate the new plant in Pune.
The facility, located about 160 km south of Mumbai, will manufacture a complete product line of disc braking systems for scooters and motorbikes to serve the needs of manufacturers throughout India with its products known for their performance, safety and comfort.
The Brembo Group, through its Indian subsidiary, KBX, holds a 50 per cent market share of motorbike brake systems manufactured in the country. Its main clients are the leading local as well as international companies such as Bajaj, Hero Honda, Honda Motors, Yamaha, Suzuki and Royal Enfield.
On the occasion Brembo introduced a new brand “Breco”, which is a synthesis of “Brembo company”, has been studied to be – in a carefully defined hierarchy of brands – the brand specifically dedicated to the braking systems of small-to-medium displacement scooters and motorcycles targeted for the BRIC and ASEAN countries.
KBX which will soon change its name to Brembo Brake India is a leader in the development and production of brake systems in India. It was established in February 2006 as a 50-50 joint venture between Brembo and Bosch. The 2008 sales were about Rs. 1.050 million (Euro 17 million). KBX has no financial debt.
“I am honored to share in the celebration today,” said Mauro Pessi, Managing Director of the Brembo Group. “Over the past 50 years, Brembo has played an important role in the motorcycle braking industry and this represents a further development in our process of globalization”.
“For Brembo this opening is another important step for its growth in a fast growing market”, said Paolo Magri – Brembo Motorcycles Business Unit Director. “This investment will give us the opportunity to improve our presence in the Indian market, in terms of quality and service”.
Brembo has invested over Rs. 1 billion to continue its development in India. Paolo Magri, Motorcycles Business Unit Director, has been appointed the Managing Director of the Brembo Group India’s activities.
Brembo has been active in India since 1998-99, when Kalyani Brakes acquired a licence to manufacture brake discs for motorcycles using the Brembo technology. Kalyani was subsequently acquired by Bosch Chassis Systems India Ltd., an Indian subsidiary of the German multinational, and KBX incorporated thereafter, in 2006, as a joint venture between Bosch and Brembo. Since 2007, Brembo has been based in India with a design centre supporting the Group R&D; activities. Soon will be improved also with an organizational unit of Global Sourcing for all Group Companies.
Brembo S.p.A. is the world leader and acknowledged innovator of the brake disc technology for automotive vehicles. Brembo supplies high performance brake systems for the most important manufacturers of cars, commercial vehicles and motorbikes worldwide, as well as clutches, seats, seat belts and other components for racing only.
Moreover, Brembo is also a leader in the racing sector and has won more than 200 championships. Today the company operates in 14 countries of three continents, with 33 production and business sites, and a pool of about 5,800 employees, nine per cent of whom are engineers and product specialists active in the R&D.; The 2007 sales totalled Euro 912 million.
Brembo owns the Brembo, Breco, Marchesini, Sabelt brands and operates through the AP Racing brand.
