M A G A Z I N E
Q 1 2 0 2 5
WAUPACA CASTS A CLEAN
SHADOW ON A DIRTY BUSINESS
Covering the brake industry since 2012
w w w . t h e b r a k e r e p o r t . c o m
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
MIKE GEYLIN
PUBLISHER
BRIAN HAGMAN
What’s Inside
11
WAUPACA FOUNDRY
Waupaca Casts a Clean Shadow on a
Dirty Business
20
MERCEDES-BENZ
Mercedes-Benz Redefines EV Friction
Braking
28
ALITHEON
Stopping Counterfeit Brake Pads in
Their Tracks
37
FDP FRICTION SCIENCE
FDP’s Winning Formula: Service &
Adaptability
49
HALO BY ORTHENE
Unleashing Brake Potential
56
INDUSTRY PARTNERS
Companies Supporting Our Mission
06
Technology Helps the Brake Industry
Build, Sell, Improve Its Components
FROM THE EDITOR
Brake-by-wire, sonar,
regenerative braking and
sensor fusion are some of
the sexy topics when
discussing braking
technology in the 21st
Century but foundries, a
time-tested production
technology, still provide
components, like rotors,
which are at the heart of
today’s friction-braking
systems.
In this issue of The BRAKE
Report Magazine we
profile Waupaca Foundry,
arguably the nation’s
largest foundry
organization. Based in
Wisconsin, the company
runs five foundries
annually turning out 1.4
million tons of castings
thanks to the efforts of its
4,000 employees.
The basic process of
heating metal to then
shape it into useful items
remains as it has since
about 4,000BC when it
began in Mesopotamia,
but the process is far safer,
cleaner and more efficient
today, with Waupaca
being a leader in this
modernization.
TBRM spoke to Jamie
Bolton, the foundry’s
director of sales, for the
latest on this technology
outlined in “Waupaca
Casts a Clean Shadow on
a Dirty Business.”
Friction brakes might not
be thought of as the most
modern of technologies as
this technology dates
back two centuries to
wood blocks being
squeezed against the
wheels of horse-drawn
carriages and wagons, but
From
the
Editor
Technology Helps
the Brake Industry
Build, Sell, Improve
and Identify Its
Components
Mercedes-Benz is exploring a completely unique way to incorporate such a system into future
vehicles.
The world’s oldest auto maker -- credited with the first “automobile” unveiled in 1886 – is in the
first phase of developing its In-Drive Brake which takes the basic components of a friction-
brake system – rotor, caliper and pad – and puts them INSIDE the drive system of an electric
vehicle.
TBRM turned to Jochen Schmid, Director, Future Electric Drive at Mercedes-Benz, for an
explanation of how the system works, what advantages it brings when compared to friction-
brakes which reside within a vehicle’s wheels and when it might be seen in production. We
explored his comments in “Mercedes-Benz Redefines EV Friction Braking In-Drive Brake Concept
Moves Components into the Powertrain.”
The components might be similar conceptually to today’s parts, but they operate very
differently in the Mercedes-Benz concept. The rotors are fixed (to the electric-motor’s drive
shaft) and the fully circular pads rotate. The caliper’s job remains pushing the pad against the
rotor.
Lower cost of ownership, zero particulate emissions and dramatically reduced unsprung weight
for the chassis are amongst the most significant improvements In-Drive Brake will bring to
future EVs.
From two of the largest companies in their fields, Waupaca Foundry and the Mercedes-Benz
Group, TBRM turned to FDP Friction Science, the self-described small guy on the block amongst
America’s and the world’s brake manufacturers, to see how it can compete in today’s
competitive market.
In “Continuation of Customer Service with E-Commerce Growth Keys to Family-Owned FDP’s
Ability to Compete,” John Carney, company president and latest leader of the 55-year-old
family-owned firm, told TBRM how the company’s small size allows it to concentrate on
customer service and to make quick decisions when it comes to seizing new opportunities.
In recent years, the Pennsylvania-based FDP has supplemented what had become a primarily
aftermarket business concentrating on private label marketing with retailing under its own
brands.
During the Covid pandemic FDP decided to make a major move into online retailing and
licensed the Goodyear brand to help facilitate the move. Carney described the trials and
tribulations of the move, which, overall, he believes has been a success.
We then pivoted to a unique operation in “Halting Fraud with Brake-Pad Fingerprints” where the
technology company Alitheon has developed a means of differentiating seemingly identical
brake products with a simple photo and smartphone app.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Mike Geylin
According to Roei Ganzarski, Chief Executive Officer of Alitheon, every brake pad, for example,
has unique, minute characteristics – much like every individual’s fingerprints. A properly placed
a photo taken by a camera on the brake-pad assembly line can record these characteristics
which can then be read by a smartphone with the company’s software and compared to a
database for confirmation of its legitimacy.
The article delves into the technology and how it is used in the brake world. It has already been
a factor in medical equipment and military applications.