Laboratory research and road tests go together to ensure suitable stopping power
With a customer base ranging from automakers, retailers and program groups to warehouse distributors, exporters and other brake manufacturers, FDP Friction Science is a global supplier of disc pads and brake shoes with nearly 400 employees.
Based in Tappahannock, Va., “It all starts at our Research & Development facility in Morrisville, Pa., where we innovate the industry’s most advanced brake compounds and pad designs,” says John Carney, vice president of sales.
After its founding in 1969, by 1970 FDP had been named as the OEM brake supplier for Ford’s Thunderbird platform. This front brake pad was known as the D1 -- the first brake pad ever listed by the Friction Materials Standards Institute (FMSI).
“That began five decades of working with the world’s leading automotive OEMs, including Chevrolet, Chrysler and Maserati,” Carney recounts.
The company’s braking categories cover a wide selection of specialized applications, including automotive, agriculture, industrial, off-highway, crane & hoist, wind power, paper production, marine, logging, mining and lawn & garden.
“Whether you’re driving on the street, highway or track, brake pads are the most important safety feature on your vehicle. When you press the brake pedal, the brake pads should stop the vehicle -- period. We’ve built our business around this proposition and it’s made all the difference,” according to Carney.
“Everything we do is to help make braking as safe and reliable as possible. And it’s more necessary than you might imagine. That’s because there are no industry or government regulations that apply to brake pads. So aftermarket pads can be something of a gamble,” he asserts.
“We subject our processes to the tightest quality controls, and our products to the most extensive lab and road testing available. Ultimately, our focus on safety and reliability results in higher-quality, longer-lasting products,” says Carney, who recently responded to a series of questions asked by Aftermarket Business World:
What does your product line consist of?
The bulk of our product line consists of brake pads and shoes for passenger cars and light trucks as well as the medium duty aftermarket. FDP also offers racing brake products that cover applications used in the grassroots racing community through the top levels of professional racing.
We also supply specialty friction products for the industrial, agricultural, military, and the crane & hoist markets.
What advice can you offer for someone who wishes to obtain added knowledge of brake systems?
If you are a professional technician, or are in the industry as either a buyer or seller of brakes, you should take the ASE A5 brake certification course.
As a professional, it is crucial to quickly diagnose a customer’s brake-related issue.
As a buyer and seller you gain valuable tools that will help you be more successful in your career. I have always found that people want to buy from, and sell to, people who know their products.
What are some of the best avenues for brake installation training?
For professionals I would say any of the various technical schools do a fantastic job in preparing our next generation of service professionals for automotive repair.
For the DIYer, YouTube is a tremendous source. Some installation videos are better than others obviously, but there is a lot of great content, oftentimes vehicle-specific, that can walk a DIYer through the install.
Is the brake manufacturing segment undergoing consolidation?Absolutely. There has been steady and continued consolidation amongst parts distributors for years.
Like most industries when that happens, a byproduct is consolidation within the vendor community.
Brake parts suppliers are no different and there has been, and will continue to be, consolidation.
Do you have some tips for retailers eager to sell brake products to DIYers?
I would suggest selling confidence first and products second.
Overall, a brake job is a fairly easy vehicle maintenance item for DIYer to perform, yet there are many people who lack the confidence to tackle the job.
If they feel they cannot do the job, the facts and features of your product aren’t relevant. Provide the customer assurance they can do the job through how-to videos, take-home materials, store training sessions, dedicated help lines, etc.
It’s a great feeling to complete a DIY project. If the customer associates that feeling with your brand, they will be a customer of that brand for life.
Do you have some tips for distributors and repairers interested in enhancing their sales of brake products?
When dealing with consumers on an investment in a brake replacement project, transparency and education is key.
A consumer might not know all of the components in a brake system, or they might not understand the importance of replacing rotors and calipers along with the pads to ensure their safety.
There’s also the trust factor – brakes are something they can’t easily see on their cars.
Distributors and repairers can help build that trust with third-party diagnostic tools and videos of their vehicle’s brake system that demonstrate clearly why replacement is needed.
What are some of the additional components that a driver typically purchases when ordering a brake job?
Many times when consumers order a brake job, it’s an opportunity to address components around the wheel – from brake pads to the full brake bundle – to tire rotation or replacement and alignment.
All of these factors contribute to the vehicle’s driving performance and braking ability, so the more the industry can do to educate consumers about these considerations, the more we all benefit.
Can we expect changes in brake technology as electric vehicles become more common?
Absolutely! The hybrid and pure electric vehicles are equipped with regenerative braking.
This reduces the need for a friction material with less wear, but corrosion has become quite a problem in those vehicles. People also drive these vehicles more aggressively than originally thought and there have been some reports of separation on a few of the vehicles.
