Brose Uses Alternate Materials to Cut Weight of Components

Brose India Automotive Systems, a mechatronic components and systems maker, achieves light weighting across the components it manufactures mainly by using alternate materials. The core competency of the company is the synthesis of mechanical, electrical and electronic systems. The company focuses on 3 areas: Technology for door systems or modules, adjustment systems for front and rear seats, and electric motors and drives.

- Bhargav TS

The company that started its operations in India (Pune) with its engineering centre in 2008, shifted to a bigger manufacturing facility in April 2014, adding new production capacity and R&D capabilities for testing, validation and prototyping. When Brose started manufacturing activity in India, it had higher localisation for its window regulators for passenger cars. In 2012-13, it added seat height adjusters and worked towards aligning its products with its customer requirements.

The passenger car door construction typically uses sheet metal components inside and that is the metal part of the body in white (BIW). The company replaces metal part with the plastic part and other components are attached to that. Apart from the alternate material the company uses organo sheets, a glass fibre mat. Only specific areas that need plastics are moulded with that. With this the company achieves 2kg of weight reduction per vehicle.