(Jul. 23) – World renowned Italian brake maker Brembo just built its first set of calipers in the U.S. at a plant in south-central Michigan. The Company, best known for supplying advanced brakes to Formula One race cars, Ferrari and Porsche, so expands its business with its third American plants in Detroit. The new 2013 Cadillac ATS sport sedan is the first vehicle with U.S.-made Brembo calipers, the part of a braking system that squeezes down on the discs. In addition to the ATS, Brembo supplies the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Cadillac’s V-series performance cars, Chrysler’s SRT performance models and the Ford Shelby GT 500. GM is Brembo’s biggest American client, and the ATS is the highest-volume car the company supplies in North America. Brembo’s Michigan work force has grown from a handful of salespeople three years ago to more than 300 at a tech center in Plymouth and the factory it bought from Hayes Lemmerz in Homer, near Marshall. North America accounted for about 20% of Brembo’s $1.5 billion sales in 2010, the last year for which figures are available. (red)
