MCHENRY, Ill. — Brake Parts Inc. (BPI), maker of Raybestos brakes, has invested in new manufacturing and testing equipment at its BPI-Laixi plant in Laixi, China, in order to expand brake testing capabilities and increase production capacity.
BPI-Laixi is one of four BPI-owned friction plants globally. The plant manufactures nearly 6 million sets of brake pads annually and has added a LINK 3000 dynamometer to conduct enhanced performance, noise and durability testing on friction material, the company said.
In order to meet growing customer demand, BPI said it has added the latest generation of positive molding equipment to the IATF (ISO) 16949:2016-certified plant.
BPI did not disclose the financial scale of the investment.
This addition will allow BPI-Laixi to increase its production capacity by 1 million sets of brake pads annually. The company also plans to add more positive molding equipment in the first quarter of 2018 to increase capacity by another 2 million sets per year.
"At BPI, we are continually evaluating and upgrading our manufacturing facilities in order to fulfill the growing demand for quality brake components, including friction, rotors and calipers," said H.T. Chang, BPI's vice president of product development, engineering, R&D and quality.
"By making the commitment to continuously invest in our facilities, we are able to seamlessly integrate the development, testing, validation and manufacturing of new numbers and innovative products into our comprehensive brake parts offering."