1. Home
2. Supplier Database
3. Major Suppliers
4. Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd.
5. Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd. Business Report FY ended 2015

Factors
1) Sales
-Sales in FY ended Mar. 2015 increased by 7.4% year-on-year to a record high JPY 254,157 million.
-Sales increased thanks to a rise in automobile sales especially in North America and China. Favorable currency translation was also a factor to the better performance.

2) Operating income
-Operating income fell 50.5% year-on-year due to high costs incurred for expanding production to meet fast growing demand in North America and for preparing a number of lines to produce new products during the same period.

3) Net income
-The Company posted a net loss mainly because of the impairment loss of JPY 3.3 billion for surplus assets such as excess land, buildings and production equipment.

4) Japan
-Sales in FY ended Mar. 2015 decreased 4.5% year-on-year. Domestic sales were negatively affected by Japanese OEMs' shifting production overseas and by slumping new car sales due to the April 2014 consumption tax hike.

5) North America
-Sales in FY ended Mar. 2015 increased by14.8% year-on-year, thanks to strong vehicles sales in the market and a weak yen to dollar.

6) Europe
-Sales in FY ended Mar. 2015 increased by 27.6% year-on-year thanks to growth in sales of its brake products for use in vehicles built on global platforms.

7) China
-Sales in FY ended Mar. 2015 increased by 29.3% year-on-year, thanks to greater orders including new model launches from Japanese OEMs, and positive currency translation.

8) Thailand
-Sales in FY ended Mar. 2015 decreased by 13.0% year-on-year as new car sales were negatively impacted by the political uncertainty and economic slowdown since the beginning of the year.

9) Indonesia
-Sales in FY ended Mar. 2015 decreased by 2.8% year-on-year, with vehicle sales falling slightly.　Sales decreased due to a decline in demand from Japanese automakers, a drop in sales of motorcycles, and losses from exchange-rate translations.

Akebono Brake Sanyo Manufacturing Co., Ltd. converted into wholly owned subsidiary

-The Company turned its consolidated subsidiary, Akebono Brake Sanyo Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (located in Soja, Okayama), into a wholly owned subsidiary as of August 1, 2014. Akebono Brake Sanyo Manufacturing is Akebono Brake Industry's sole production base in western Japan. The subsidiary produces drum brakes for passenger cars and large vehicles. Previously, the subsidiary was jointly owned by Akebono Brake Industry, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, a Mitsubishi affiliated parts supplier, and another company. Akebono Brake Industry will strengthen its drum brake business by positioning the wholly owned subsidiary as the Company's main base for producing drum brakes in Japan. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on August 1, 2014)

Recall Program

-The Company announced that defects were found in its brake calipers used on General Motors' pickup trucks, and the automaker will recall 14,838 trucks in the U.S. due to possible brake fluid leaks. Affected vehicles are the 2015 Chevrolet "Colorado" and the 2015 GMC "Canyon" trucks that were manufactured between January 6 and December 24, 2014. This is the first time that the Company has announced an automaker's recall program related to its products supplied as original equipment. The effects of Takata airbag issue are causing growing concerns over faulty auto parts especially in the U.S. In such circumstances, the Company is actively disclosing information, which is expected to ease consumer anxiety and alleviate negative impact on its business. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on June 16, 2015)

>>>Financial Forecast for the Next Fiscal Year (Sales, Operating Income etc.)

Mid-term Management Plan

-The Company announced its mid-term management plan, called Global 30, which outlines long-term plans that are set to end at the close of fiscal year 2020, which ends in March 2021. One of the targets under the Plan is to raise the Company's global market share of disc brake pads sold to OEMs to 30%.

-In order to achieve the objectives of Global 30, the Company revised the schedule, making a new mid-term management plan, called Akebono New Frontier 30 - 2013 that sets fiscal year 2015 (ending March 2016) as the final year. The major points are outlined below:

1) Differentiate technology designed for the future

• Offer significant cost competitiveness (sharing/standardizing, low-cost brakes)
• Develop unsurpassed environmental technologies (weight-saving technology, parts for EVs and HVs, and other green technologies)
• Develop next generation production equipments which are environmental friendly and cost competitive
• Offer products for high-performance vehicles
• Develop technologies to support compact vehicles and low-cost vehicles in order to take large share in emerging markets

2) Efforts and developments overseas for revolutionary cost reductions

• Promote sharing and standardizing in all business aspects, while adding special features to meet individual needs
• Promote local procurement
• Establish optimum production network

3) Speed up the migration of global operations so they are based on Japan, the U.S.A., Europe, and Asia, and not only Japan and the U.S.A

• Send technology and manufacturing information to global operations from Japan
• Further expand North American operations, the largest in the Group
• Boost sales in Europe leveraging the Company's high-performance brakes
• Boost sales in emerging markets especially in Asia
• Expand global supply and development network
• Support automakers' global platform sharing strategies

R&D Structure

R&D Activities

<Global project>
-Develop new technologies, which include new friction materials for various brake systems and next-generation brakes by utilizing the Company's expertise in the areas of friction and vibration and their analysis and control technologies.
-Acquire greater expertise in the areas of noise and vibration and develop new technologies based on the Company's sharing and standardizing initiatives. Development projects include green materials and other environmental technologies to reduce drag and cut product weight. The Company also promotes development of low-cost brakes and electrification of braking systems.

<Japan>
Friction materials for brakes
-Development of high-quality products (mainly high-performance brake-pads for passenger cars and low-cost brake-pads) that provide superior performance in terms of noise and vibration, and which reduce wheel dust (a phenomenon that has recently become the focus of attention), and which use safe frictional materials that take environmental concerns into account.
-Develop new copper free friction materials that comply with recently enacted environmental regulations on friction materials in several U.S. states, including Washington.

Disk brakes/drum brakes
-Developed aluminum alloy opposed-piston brakes as a means of enhancing performance and reducing costs.

Motorized technology
-Electric brakes that can be controlled by electric signals coming from small electric motors placed in the brakes.
-Development of technology on electric parking systems in which only the parking function has been motorized.

<North America>
Friction materials
-Development of friction materials that provide superior performance in terms of noise and vibration, and which comply with new environmental regulations on friction materials.

Brake design/structural development
-Development of light-weight, aluminum alloy disk-brake

<Europe>
-Development of friction materials that meet strict, environmental regulations in Europe; friction materials that meet regulations on European vehicles exported to Japan and the U.S.A.

<China>
Friction materials
-Develop and produce new products through local procurement and local production to best meet the needs of emerging markets in terms of both cost and performances.

Disk brakes
-Research and analysis on Chinese market needs and how products are being used, to develop products that can be delivered at low cost but which still provide needed features and performance

<Thailand>
-Develop new products and promote local procurement to meet the needs of the ASEAN market.

-The Company invested the following amounts in facilities and equipment in its global operations: Japan: 6.4 billion yen, North America: 8.4 billion yen, Europe: 1.9 billion yen, Indonesia: 0.7 billion yen, China 2.9 billion yen, and Thailand: 0.5 billion yen.

-Major investment projects are as follows:

• Japan: facilities to produce products for high-performance vehicles
• North America: facilities to produce products for new models and to meet growth in demand
  
• Europe: land and buildings in Slovakia
  
• Indonesia, Thailand, China: capital investment to increase production in order to meet the rise in product orders

Investment Outside Japan

<Slovakia>
-The Company announced that it has held an opening ceremony for Akebono Brake Slovakia s.r.o. (ABSK), a new subsidiary to manufacture brake calipers in Trencin, Slovakia. Mass production is scheduled to start in August 2015. ABSK will initially assemble cast iron brake calipers, and plans to install new equipment to produce aluminum brake calipers for high-performance vehicles in the future. The subsidiary hopes to generate EUR 58 million sales from European automakers by 2017. ABSK has a land area of approximately 42,000 square meters and a floor area of approximately 12,000 square meters. The Company currently manufactures disc brake pads at its French subsidiary, Akebono Europe S.A.S. The establishment of the new Slovakian plant will allow the company to establish an integrated production structure in Europe. (From a press release on June 24, 2015)

<France>
-The Company will expand the plant of its French subsidiary, Akebono Europe S.A.S. (Arras), which produces friction materials for brakes. The production space of the plant will be enlarged by 50%. The plant expansion and addition of new lines will require an estimated JPY 700-800 million investment. Construction will begin during the fiscal year ending March 2015. By the summer of 2015, the plant's monthly production capacity of disc brake pads will increase by 30% from 600,000 units to 800,000 units. This decision was made to cope with an increase in orders from Japanese and European automakers for disc brake pads as standard equipment and for repair purposes in Europe. The Company will also set up a new research and development base and a brake caliper plant in France in 2015 with the aim of expanding business with European automakers. The planned increase in production of friction materials will strengthen the Company's manufacturing system in Europe. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on January 7, 2014)

<China>
-The Company will boost production capacity of brake parts at its two plants in China. Production capacity of the disc brake pad plant will be more than doubled by early 2015, while that of the brake caliper plant will be increased by 80% by the summer of 2015. The combined total investment in the two plants will be JPY 1.7 billion. In China, the Company has received new orders from Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., its major customer, as well as from General Motors Company (GM) and other Japanese automakers. As a result, production capacity in China is becoming tighter. Currently, the caliper plant is operating four lines, with monthly production capacity of 200,000 units. A new line will be installed in the summer 2014 and this will be followed by the second new line to be introduced at the end of 2014. The third new line will be added in the summer of 2015, when the total number of lines will be seven. This will increase the Company's caliper production capacity in China to 350,000 units a month. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on May 12, 2014)

<Thailand>
-The Company has established a joint venture subsidiary with Mohka Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (in Moka City, Tochigi Prefecture) to produce cast-iron components in Thailand. The new subsidiary's plant will start production in August 2016, and will mainly manufacture cast-iron brake caliper components. From 2018, production volume is scheduled to rise to 1,300 metric tons per month. The new subsidiary, A&M Casting (Thailand) Co., Ltd., is located in Ratchaburi Industrial Estate, Ratchaburi Province, approximately 100km west of Bangkok. Akebono Brake holds a 74.9% stake in the subsidiary while Mohka Manufacturing holding the remaining 25.1%. Its lot area is approximately 37,000 square meters, and the building area is approximately 5,000 square meters. The investment amount is planned to be JPY 2.2 billion. The plant will monthly produce 600 metric tons of the components for Akebono Brake Industry's Thai plant until 2017. From 2018 onward, in consideration of market trends, it will increase the production volume. The new company is also considering the sales of cast-iron components to other companies in Thailand. (From an article in the Nikkan Jidosha Shimbun on October 31, 2014)