ITT 101:
Friction Products Division
No longer called Galfer, but still outdistancing the competition with emphasis on R&D.

The 90 million brake pads Friction Products Division will make this year tops 2004's output by 10 million … which topped 2003's output by 10 million … which topped 2002's output by 10 million … which topped ….

You get the idea.

Friction Products Division doesn't just break previous production records -- it grinds them into dust as efficiently and methodically as it grinds friction material to produce high-quality brake pads for the automotive industry.

Since joining ITT Industries in 1977, Friction Products has enjoyed not just steady, but heady internal growth. Just in the past five years, sales have jumped 60 percent, from $200 million in 2000 to a projected $320 million in 2005.

Friction Products president Michele Gianasso attributes this success to three major strengths. "We are known for our technology leadership, our responsiveness to customers and our highly trained and motivated employees."

Formerly called Galfer, Friction Products Division operates three manufacturing plants in Italy. Brake pads are made at company headquarters in Barge and at Termoli, and steel back-plates for the pads are produced at Vauda Canavese.

Customers fall into three categories: brake system OEM's (original equipment manufacturers) bring in over 42 percent of the business, followed by OES’s (original equipment service) with almost 31 percent and AM's (independent after-market) with nearly 27 percent.

Europe is Friction Products' stronghold, with more than 90 percent of sales coming from Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic. Some of the best-engineered cars in the world -- Ferrari, Lamborghini, Volvo, Audi, Peugeot and Porsche, among them -- stop on a dime with the aid of Friction Products brake pads and back-plates.

To ride in the fast lane with customers of that caliber, Friction Products stays cost efficient and technology proficient. A hefty commitment to R&D -- drawing 4.3 percent of sales and 100 engineers -- has spurred innovations that boost productivity, cut costs and improve quality.

Technology-driven advances include rotating presses that have evolved from the standard one-cavity die to eight cavities. Several manual operations, such as the loading and unloading of back-plates into the presses, are performed by an army of over 100 robots, some with built-in cameras to control movement.

An infrared curing system developed in-house has replaced open flames for heating friction material to nearly 1400º F. Besides speeding production, the new curing method has eliminated fires and drastically reduced volatile organic compound emissions and offensive odors.

Leading-edge processes enable Barge and Termoli, between them, to turn out an astonishing 350,000 brake pads per day. And average cycle time from raw material to packaging has been slashed from one week to 45 minutes.

Robotics and other forms of automation have led to an increase, not a decrease, in employment. To meet increased customer demand, 150 new employees have been hired in the past two years, bringing the current workforce to almost 1,000. "When I talk with union officials, this is a very positive message I can deliver," says Gianasso.

 

At Friction Products Division, several manual operations are performed by an army of over 100 robots, some with built-in cameras to control movement.


Expanding Beyond Europe

This September, Friction Products Division expands beyond Europe into the U.S. with the startup of a brake pad plant in Searcy, Arkansas. The converted Fluid Handling Systems facility will start with 35 to 40 employees, run three shifts and be managed initially by Italian plant experts. "We want to start with sufficient capacity to show U.S. customers that we are ready to produce for them immediately," says Gianasso.

The next big step toward globalization should come in 2006, when Friction Products goes after the Japanese market with a production facility possibly in China.