Haldex says it will restructure Friction Products, a business unit within the Commercial Vehicles Systems (CVS) division, discontinuing production of lining products for drum brakes at its Prattville AL plant and outsourcing it to sub-suppliers.
The firm says this measure will result in cost savings and thus increased profitability for the business unit.
Haldex has concluded agreements with a number of suppliers in nations offering low-cost production. Haldex has implemented a quality-assurance program with these suppliers to ensure that their quality will meet or exceed current standards. Lining products for drum brakes are mainly sold to the North American aftermarket. CVS's North American sales organization will continue to provide sales and technical support for friction products. Production will be relocated to sub-suppliers during the first quarter of 2008.
About 75-85 employees will be affected by the changes.
With respect to operations that produce lining products for disc brakes, which mainly focus on the North American OEM market, various strategic alternatives are being evaluated.