MEMBER FEATURE
INNOVATION AND APPLICATION Disc Brakes Australia has been driving innovation for more than 40 years
Proudly Australian, Disc Brakes Australia has a global reputation for designing and manufacturing quality braking components. From humble beginnings in Waterloo, New South Wales, today DBA is ready to write the next chapter in its already impressive story. The seed was planted in the 1970s when Phillip Joseph Sr. joined his father, Oscar Joseph, at Sydney Clutch and Brake Exchange in Waterloo. “Phillip was working alongside his father at Sydney Clutch and Brake when a customer came in, looking for a replacement brake rotor for his 1967 HR Holden,” Phil Joseph, General Manager, Operations, Disc Brakes Australia, says. When the customer mentioned that he couldn’t buy a genuine or aftermarket rotor anywhere, the father and son quickly identified a significant gap in the market and promptly put the wheels in motion, developing a product to meet this newly discovered demand. “My father Phillip went out, did some work at the foundry, and machined up 10 sets of replacement disc rotors with Oscar’s help,” Phil describes. Until this point, as replacement parts weren’t readily available, everyone used to constantly machine rotors, so having discovered an untapped market, it wasn’t long before all the HR rotors from the first production run were sold. “About six months after that initial production run, another customer enquired about replacement rotors for a 1968 XP Ford Falcon, and the same pattern followed. My father commissioned another production run at the foundry, the customer purchased a set, and the rest were put into stock,” Phil explains.
“The business just grew from there, and it wasn’t long before the range extended to include replacement rotors for a selection of the more popular vehicles.” It is interesting to note that Oscar had actually identified the future demand for quality replacement brake rotors, having registered the name Disc Brakes Australia more than 10 years before commissioning that first run of HR disc brakes. It wasn’t long before the father and son team outgrew the Waterloo shop, which just provided a brake and clutch exchange service. Taking a plunge, Phillip and Oscar moved into their own premises, allowing them the opportunity to build a dedicated manufacturing base and invest in research and development. “My father was certainly an innovator,” Phil remarks. “He understood the value of developing and where possible patenting new technology that would differentiate DBA’s product offering from our competitors, some of the best examples being the Kangaroo Paw ventilation technology, T2, T3 slots, and two-piece rotors.” DBA’s professionalism and expertise eventually
started to attract the attention of the local vehicle manufacturers, and from the 1990s the likes of Mazda, Mitsubishi, as well as Ford and Holden commissioned DBA to produce disc rotors for their Original Equipment Service (OES) – with the latter two arrangements continuing to this day. Impressed with DBA’s technical expertise, Ford took the partnership to the next level, relying on DBA as a development and prototyping resource for some of their Original Equipment brakes. Over the years, DBA has supplied Original Equipment performance brake rotors to FPV and HSV, including variants of the Falcon AU, Commodore VE, and the last generation Falcon FG-X. DBA currently employs more than 30 people working in production and related functions such as R&D, product design, procurement, and logistics, proving its commitment to product innovation and range expansion. “Australia has one of the world’s most complex vehicle car parcs,” Phil says. “Unlike many of our competitors who basically conform to the one-size-fits-all mantra, all of our replacement rotors are purpose-designed. As a result, we pride ourselves on covering everything from a straight OE replacement product for your everyday drive all the way up to performance applications, special applications, track day use, and even race applications. “Of course, each of those segments requires a very specific product, specific price points, and unique marketing. And I think that’s what we’ve been doing very well to cater for these different segments and offer the right products for those applications,” he adds.
DBA Manufacturing Plant in Silverwater (Sydney)
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Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine July 2021
Unlike many of its competitors who basically source imported products and market under their own brand name, DBA is proud of its history of innovation, commitment to local manufacturing where feasible, and its success in unlocking new export opportunities.
