Carlisle Brake & Friction by North American Constructors Journal

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Carlisle Brake & Friction:

Continuous Drive For Perfection Carlisle Brake & Friction of Medina, OH is an industry-leading provider of high performance and severe duty brake, clutch and transmission applications to OEM and aftermarket customers Written by Kevin Doyle Produced by Stephen Marino

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s it nears the end of its first century of operation, to say that Carlisle Brake & Friction of Medina, OH hit the ground running and never stopped might be understating the case just a bit. Founded in 1924 by Samuel K. Wellman, the company has built an impressive legacy throughout its history. It developed and produced transmission linings for Henry Ford’s Model T in that same year, enabling the legendary automaker to bring automobiles to the masses and usher in America’s enduring love affair with the open road. A decade later the company’s revolutionary sintered metal disc brakes – the materials are fused together into a solid mass by combining pressure and heat without melting them – became standard issue in Goodyear Tire Company’s fleet of aircraft. And so it has gone throughout Carlisle’s innovative history. The company has grown to become an industry-leading solutions provider of high performance and severe duty brake, clutch and transmission applications for OEM and aftermarket customers in the aerospace, mining, construction, military, agricultural, motorsports, industrial, highway, rail and renewable energy markets.

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Carlisle Brake & Friction | 4 “Our legacy has always been one of producing highly-engineered, specially designed materials and systems,” says company President Ted Messmer, a 1992 graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point who joined Carlisle in September 2015 and holds an MBA in Finance from the Fuqua School of Finance at Duke University. Today the company employs between 1,500-2,000 individuals worldwide, generates $430 million annual revenue and is one of several companies under the diverse Carlisle Companies umbrella. It maintains nine manufacturing plants across Asia, Europe and in the Americas and is a member of the National Fluid Power Association (NFPA). “We never rest on our laurels. We’re almost 100 years old and we continue to get better every day. How we service customers, develop products, manage operations through continuous improvement is always at the

“We never rest on our laurels. W we continue to get better every d develop products, manage op improvement is always at the always a way t - President Te

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forefront because there is always a way to do better,” Messmer asserts. “As an employee it is very inspiring because they know everyone around them has that same desire and that pursuit of excellence. That challenges you to do more and to enjoy what you are

We’re almost 100 years old and day. How we service customers, perations through continuous e forefront because there is to do better.” ed Messmer

doing,” he adds.

Day To Day Messmer sees his primary role as one of providing the company’s workforce the tools and training to be successful and the leadership and support necessary for each individual to achieve their goals. “We empower our people and have a shared vision and a shared purpose from our customers all the way through our company. Having that shared vision of purpose and helping them be successful in turn makes the company successful. I try to make sure I understand the

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Carlisle Brake & Friction | 6 needs of our customers and the needs of our employees and try to find ways to bridge any gaps in order to make us effective and to accomplish our goals,” he explains. The company’s Carlisle Operating System (COS) focuses on robust, high quality processes and incorporates Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies to drive continuous improvement for both the business and its customers. “Every vendor we work with we insure has the same level of excellence in driving quality. We have very high expectations and work with our Supply Chain to make sure the right

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processes are in place to sustain high performance and on-time delivery. That’s critical when we’re building brakes that are stopping huge dump trucks or stopping planes on runways – there is no real room for error there,” Messmer says. Safety is ingrained into the company’s culture. Carlisle maintains a safety incident rate that is half the industry standard. “It’s something we’re very proud of. We have always have had a safety-driven culture, not only what our products do in the marketplace, but from the top down. We take care of each other [and] we’ve been able to maintain

that high degree of safety through COVID where employees are sometimes distracted,” Messmer notes. The company maintains a COVID dashboard on its website to keep employees up to date on protocol and procedure. Membership in the NFPA has proven to be quite beneficial for the company. “It keeps us in tune with regulatory changes and technology developments in the market and obviously helps in networking with suppliers and customers. Those are big drivers why we’re members,” Messmer says.

Carlisle Brake & Friction | 7 Meeting Challenges The ongoing global pandemic is unlike anything anyone has seen in their lifetime. Despite its shattering impact on every aspect of life, Messmer says Carlisle is absolutely committed to operating as normally and as efficiently as possible. “We’re a very global company and we’re absolutely racing to make sure all those plants are able to support our customers. It’s even more challenging when we’re in China, India and Europe,” he says. From an operations perspective, every day presents the opportunity to become better in order to

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produce the safest, most reliable brake systems that protect operators working in rugged terrain and dangerous climates around the world. “We like those challenges. On top of that we’re clearly faced with the economics that drive cyclical markets. We have to ramp up production for when there is a shortage of materials or a heavy demand for infrastructure. We can go from developing a new product to ramping up very quickly to

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meet extreme economic market demands,” Messmer says.

Looking Forward This company is never satisfied and will undoubtedly carry the same enthusiasm for the work it does into its second century of operation. It has invested heavily into new product development such as autonomous vehicles, electro-hydraulic technology, increased capabilities for off-highway products and braking by wire.

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“Our legacy has always been one of producing highlyengineered, specially designed materials and systems.” - President Ted Messmer www.carlislecbf.com

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www.carlislecbf.com

Carlisle Brake & Friction | 11 Research and Development is the beating heart of the company, which produces a dizzying array of well over 100 distinct products and is renowned for its wet and dry brake and transmission friction material competencies. Looking back on his early career, Messmer says the piece of advice he might give himself would be this: “I would probably have more respect for the fact that the plane or train I was on stopped where it was supposed to stop and I was able to walk on and off safely.” Which sums up what Carlisle strives to accomplish every second of every day quite nicely.