Quality, Availability & Range Still Drivers for Success
Quality, availability and range are still the main drivers for caliper customers across the UK and European aftermarket, says Shaftec. The Drive. Steer. Stop expert also stands by its core business model of remanufactured product as it continues to be a major growth area, despite the influx of new surcharge free product entering the market.
“Caliper exchanges are a bread-and-butter job for independent garages, and when a garage is changing multiple sets per day, the last thing anyone in the chain wants is for the job to have to be done again,” explains Shaftec’s marketing manager, Adrian Kitchen.
“Price will always be important, but even above that comes quality, availability, and range. This means that the garages must choose the right brand, right from the start and that the motor factors need to partner with those who offer product which meets the right standards and ticks all the boxes.”
Shaftec has been remanufacturing brake calipers since 2007 and business growth is impressive. In 2023 to date Shaftec has seen 55 percent growth year on year over the last six months. “Which means we must have the right processes in place, as it appears that Shaftec product really does tick all the boxes,” Adrian says.
Taking up the mantle, Joe Toakley, Key Account manager, UK South, adds: “The surcharge free concept is still attractive to some motor factors - and to offer customers full choice and transparency, our new Select range is surcharge free. Most of these parts are remanufactured, but as with the full programme there will always be part numbers where it is more viable to source new product. What is interesting is that most of these factors are still receiving core back from garages, even when it was sold surcharge free. So, the physical behaviour hasn’t changed. This is down to them not wanting to keep old units which take up room in the workshop, and also thanks to Shaftec’s Green Buy scheme on the Select range.”
The new Green Buy Back Scheme allows customers to save money and help the environment by increasing recycling within the industry. It works like this: every caliper returned to Shaftec under this scheme will be recycled where possible, either remanufactured in-house or recycled through a third party if this isn’t possible. The aim here is to reduce the amount of product going to landfill. For more information, go to: SELECT Caliper Green Buy Back Scheme - Shaftec
The figures prove that the market for reman calipers is unequivocally growing. Shaftec’s remanufacturing processes are well honed and watertight and result in the Shaftec quality, availability, and range. With more than 5800-part numbers, all with a 24 month or 24,000-mile warranty in place, the Shaftec portfolio caters for a whopping 94 percent of the European car parc. The portfolio includes remanufactured and new product, a range of painted calipers and a programme of Electric Parking Brake (EPB) calipers.
Sometimes, a vehicle comes into a garage needing a part which just isn’t available off the shelf – anywhere. Shaftec’s answer to this is its ‘Reman & Return’ programme Reman and Return Service - Shaftec which is offered for brake calipers, driveshafts, steering pumps and racks. This means that if a specific piece of used core meets its returns criteria, Shaftec remanufactures that exact same part and returns it to the customer, as new, within a specified timescale and with the same warranty as a new part. This is all carried out at Shaftec’s impressive 50,000 sq foot Midlands based facility which is fully equipped with the latest machinery and technology for increased efficiency.
We talked to George Bernado, Shaftec’s Chief Assembly Operative to understand how this process works….
Calipers – 95 percent of the calipers we receive for Reman & Return are for rare model vehicles. Some recent examples: Subaru Impreza Import, Lotus Elan and Mitsubishi Canter.
The customer calls with a vehicle registration, or vehicle details and Shaftec arranges UPS collection direct from the customer. A job sheet is prepared and then we assess the core for reman suitability. Criteria for this is bespoke to the product being remanufactured, but in all cases, the core must meet certain safety standards. The caliper is high pressure air tested to check for any cracks in the cast. In addition, all threads and sliders are checked. The caliper is then stripped; the piston, seals and bleed screws are removed. After this, the core is shot blasted and hot washed which strips the core right back to its original state. The caliper is then painted using anti corrosion paint. Silver is standard but for an additional cost we also offer red, green, yellow, blue, and black. All hand brake mechanisms are checked and repaired if needed and the caliper is rebuilt by hand using new pistons and kits. The caliper will then go through a final pressure testing procedure. It’s then boxed using anti corrosion packaging and placed on a designated shelf in the warehouse. The production job sheet is returned to the technical team ready for informing the customer that the part is ready. The job sheet is then filed for future reference; in the event of a similar request being received and all original parts are kept for seven days.
Job done!