Bendix invests further in Aussie manufacturing

FMP Group, the company behind leading braking component systems and friction materials brand, Bendix, has furthered its investment in local manufacturing with the acquisition of a custom-made and state-of-the-art Comec grinder for its Ballarat research and design centre.

Manufactured by AFT Automation in Italy, a firm well-known for the design and manufacture of grinding, pressing and sintering machines for the brake components industry, the machine is valued at “well over $1m”.

It will allow Bendix technicians and engineers to “apply complex grinding geometries in the brand’s range of brake pads, including angular grooves and chamfers”, Bendix said in a statement.

Keeping Bendix abreast of the latest advancements in braking components, the new machine will enable both the shape of brake pads and the angled finish of friction material to improve the performance of locally-manufacturer products, especially when it comes to reducing noise.

Bendix says its latest investment follows “several line efficiency upgrades” that were implemented at the end of 2022, including additional tooling and automation. The FMP (Friction Materials Pacific) Group is also set to introduce on “on-line boxing” system to its Ballarat facility within the coming months, further increasing production efficiency.

Further, the firm has future programs it says are “well advanced”, and which include expanding its ability to “implement low volume, made-to-order products” and that will assist it in the transition to “digitised production”.

Bendix has been producing brake and friction components in Australia since 1955. The FMP Group currently employs 118 people at its Ballarat facility, and says it is “one of only a few automotive aftermarket businesses that remains committed to manufacturing in Australia”.

FMP Group is Australia’s largest automotive friction material supplier. It supplies the Australian aftermarket with an extensive range of brake pads and shoes, disc brake rotors, hose kits, sensors and brake controllers, upgrade kits and sprays and fluids.

The investment at its Ballarat facility comes just weeks after Bendix announced wider availability of its range of EV-Hybrid disc brake pads.

Designed specifically to suit the needs of a variety of new energy vehicles (NEVs), the EV-Hybrid product line suits Honda, Lexus, Mitsubishi, Tesla and Toyota NEVs with more vehicles to be added to the range over the coming months.

Bendix says the organic friction material used in the EV-Hybrid disc brake pads comprise a range of ingredients including synthetic glass fibres, aramid fibres and natural organic fibres as the main reinforcing elements.

These are supported by organic modifiers and binding resins to deliver strong stopping power, and low noise and dust emissions, while also providing low environmental impact.

Certified to the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers’ Association (AASA) ‘N’ rating, the copper-free organic friction materials used in the Bendix EV-Hybrid disc pad range contains less than 0.5 per cent of copper by weight, permitted the product to wear the coveted LeafMark ‘N’ icon.