ELYRIA, Ohio – Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems (Bendix CVS), a member of the Knorr-Bremse Group, has expanded its global business to include torsional vibration engine dampers. The company is incorporating another North American unit of the Knorr-Bremse Group that makes dampers — Berlin, Germany-based Hasse & Wrede — into its portfolio.

Hasse & Wrede has been a member of the Knorr-Bremse organization since 1921 and began its North American operations in 2000 as a stand-alone business. The Hasse & Wrede U.S. manufacturing facility is located in North Aurora, Ill., 40 miles west of Chicago. This damper business unit remains highly globally integrated as research and development, engineering support, technical sales and other necessary services continue to be provided from Hasse & Wrede headquarters in Berlin.

Russ Brax, a member of the Bendix team for more than 20 years, will oversee the Hasse & Wrede dampers business unit. Brax will server as director of the unit and will also fill the North American damper technical sales role.

Bendix is now responsible for driving customer satisfaction, quality, growth, and profitability of the damper business unit, which produces dampers in Germany, China, Brazil and the U.S.
       
“This alignment with Hasse & Wrede reflects the business structure now in place around the globe and more easily enables the Bendix team to fully serve our customers, as well as capitalize and collaborate more effectively with our Knorr-Bremse colleagues,” said Steve Mance, vice president and general manager of the Bendix Charging business unit. “We are looking forward to continuing our efforts to meet the future and current needs of our customers by offering a robust network of universal technologies, resources and capabilities that have been broadened by the incorporation of Hasse & Wrede into our charging business unit.”
       
This is not the first exposure to the dampers business unit for Bendix. In November 2007, Bendix original equipment sales began assuming responsibility for customers North America. Current customers include Caterpillar, Detroit Diesel Corp., Navistar, Cummins and John Deere.
       
Caterpillar Inc. recently honored the damper group with a bronze certification in its Supplier Quality Excellence Program (SQEP). The award recognizes consistent production practices, delivery levels and a robust continuous improvement agenda. This was the first SQEP award for the group. The damper business unit also received silver level Six Sigma designation for its operation.

“This truly is a testament to the hard work of the employees in Aurora and a direct outcome of their dedication to providing quality to our customers,” Mance said. “We’re honored to receive this award for the first time and believe it is a sign of the continued success this partnership is sure to bring.”