Specialist knowledge makes all the difference

Bendix is well-known across the globe for the engineering, development and production of high-quality braking components for motorcycles, passenger cars, four-wheel-drives and commercial vehicles.

Bendix doesn’t dabble in suspension systems, driveline parts or automotive accessories – the company’s sole focus is to provide Australian and New Zealand drivers with the best braking systems possible.

A Bendix Materials Engineer uses a Scanning Electron Microscope to examine pad ingredients.

It’s this single-minded vision that has made the Bendix brand under parent company FMP Group (Australia), the region’s leading friction material manufacturer.

The company has invested heavily in Australia over many decades and proudly manufactures a wide range of disc brake pads at its advanced manufacturing facility in Ballarat, Victoria. In 2006 Bendix was accredited for OEM supply to car companies – a strong endorsement of its high-quality components – and two years later the brand was inducted into the prestigious Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame.

A Test Technician uses the brake dynamometer to evaluate performance, wear and noise before final on vehicle testing.

Product evolution and new product development have always been high on Bendix’s agenda, leading to many product innovations over the years. During the 1970s Bendix developed new and more efficient disc brake pad manufacturing processes, and implemented innovative friction material formulations to improve braking performance while remaining cost competitive. The breakthroughs led to product export opportunities for the company.

In the late 1990s, investment in a local state-of-the-art sound analysis laboratory placed a strong emphasis on reducing brake pad noise, resulting in smoother and quieter operation using Bendix pads and shoes. The innovation continued in the 2000s with the introduction of the ground-breaking Titanium Stripe, a feature that provided instant friction eliminating the need to wear in brake pads.

A Technician sets up the automatic mould press in preparation for brake pad production.

Serious drivers were catered to from 2007 with the introduction of Street-Road-Track brake pads for powerful vehicles, while in 2009 a new generation of high performing brake shoes were introduced, followed by the release of the revolutionary ‘STEALTH Advanced Technology’ brake pads the following year.

Preparing the disc pad wrapping machine.

Range expansion beyond brake pads and brake shoes ensued shortly after with the release of ancillary products including brake fluids and cleaners, brake wear sensors and components such as the Euro+ range which included disc brake rotors.

Some more quality pads come off the production line in Ballarat, ready for shipping to distributors.

More recently Bendix has developed an exciting range of brake upgrade packages to improve the safety and stopping power of four-wheel-drive and performance vehicles, under the Ultimate and Ultimate+ banner, with products available as individual components or in multi-product kit form.

Nothing but braking components and accessories here.

To ensure that Bendix continues its upward trajectory of innovation and continues to deliver world-class products for the Asia Pacific region, FMP Group has invested almost $9 million over the last decade to aid product development and refine manufacturing processes. Almost 150 people are currently employed by Bendix in Ballarat and at support offices across Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, making sure the next Bendix innovation is never far away.