As Brose Canada reaches their 10th year anniversary of calling London, Ontario home, the London Economic Development Corporation takes a moment to reflect on the rich history and futuristic innovation that defines this world-class company. Brose Canada is a story worth sharing, and the LEDC is happy to honor this hub of manufacturing excellence with an Economic Leadership Award on September 15th, 2015.
About Brose
Brose is the world’s fifth-largest family-owned automotive supplier. It develops and produces innovative mechatronics systems for vehicle doors and seats as well as electric motors. There are about 24,000 Brose employees working at 60 locations in 23 countries, generating a turnover of approximately 5.2 billion euros.
Millions of car drivers all over the world benefit from Brose technology. From car seat adjusters to lift gate sensors, at least one third of every car on the road is equipped with one or more Brose products.
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Laying the Foundation
The history of Brose is characterized by a strong vision, entrepreneurial courage, and a determination to succeed. Max Brose, whose parents ran a carbody company in Wuppertal, Germany, was convinced of the future viability of the automobile. In 1908 at the age of 24, the young salesman opened up a trading company for automobile accessories in Berlin.
Together, Max Brose and his colleague Ernst Jühling founded the Metallwerk Max Brose & Co. in 1919, expanding his entrepreneurial activities to include the production of automobile components. Throughout their journey, Max Brose patents a window crank that marks the beginning of an unparalleled success story of a product that today, no vehicle is complete without. Due to its technological lead coupled with a high demand for the product, Brose quickly became a market leader.
After the war, Metallwerk Max Brose & Co. was the largest manufacturing company in Coburg, Germany, with approximately 550 employees. Max Brose guided the company through two world wars and built an economically stable, technologically successful enterprise. The company was renamed following the death of Max Brose to Brose Fahrzeugteile.
New Horizons
At the end of the eighties, Brose established its first two foreign production sites in England and Spain. In 1993, the first manufacturing facility on the American continent comes into operation in Mexico. Sales and engineering offices were set up in Detroit, Tokyo and Paris in the following years.
Brose Canada is one of more than 60 automotive parts suppliers located in the London region. Opened in 2005 as Brose Group’s first Canadian production facility, the London plant sparked the company’s penetration into the North American market.
Employing approximately 750 people, Brose Canada produces 80,000 manual and power seat adjusters per week for customers such as Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru and Volkswagen. Brose also manufacturers door systems for Ford at the London plant.
Following a $20 million expansion in 2010, Brose Canada is a leading plant in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region.
Technological Innovation
Brose has contributed to a seismic shift away from traditional manufacturing to one that is more technology and innovation based.
Steve Wilkins, General Manager at Brose Canada, points to London’s skilled workforce and access to Western University’s Faculty of Engineering as key factors to Brose’s success and growth:
“We have a highly motivated workforce with a good educational background that supports our goal to become a centre of competence as a lead plant for seat production in North America,” says Wilkins.
An Evolving Future
According to Wilkins, seat manufacturing is a growth area for Brose, and London is seen as a location that will help develop new technologies for the division.
“We are well positioned for growth in the most important automobile markets and will expand our development and production expertise in the coming years. Thanks to our cooperation with Western, we have an excellent foundation for further developing our teams in order to be even more successful in the future.”
Brose Canada recently received a $1 million contribution from the Southwestern Ontario Economic Development Fund to invest in new equipment and enable the creation of 20 new jobs.
“Brose considers itself well-prepared to meet the trends in advanced manufacturing, while still addressing the industry’s need for lightweight materials, increased efficiency, as well as improved comfort and safety,” says Wilkins.
For more information about Brose, please visit http://www.brose.com/en/. You can find Brose in our London Magazine, both in the print version or online at http://magazine.ledc.com/manufacturing.html.
