ZF TRW, the Active and Passive Safety Division of ZF AG, is celebrating a unique industry milestone – the production of one billion brake calipers within the Colette design family.

“This is an amazing achievement for our braking business as we mark the production of one billion Colette brake calipers. No other disc brake design has reached such widespread acceptance on world roadways and today disc brakes are recognized as the most efficient method of stopping light vehicles,” said Manfred Meyer, vice- president, global brake engineering for ZF TRW. 

“We never stop innovating or enhancing our products,” Meyer continued. “As vehicles evolve to ever increasing levels of requirements for CO2 emission reduction, safety, electrification and sophistication, ZF TRW continues to seek new approaches for efficency and performance. In 1991 ZF TRW introduced the industry’s first ‘ball in ramp’ rear caliper with integrated park brake. Due to its efficient design it has driven the conversion to full disc brake (front and rear caliper) primarily on C-segment vehicles and above leading to enhanced safety. This technology is still dominating world production on rear calipers. 

Introducing the first electric park brake with the motor on caliper design concept in 2001 was an important first step toward the future of systems like brake by wire and the integration opportunities needed to support advanced safety systems. ZF TRW remains the world leader in this technology with more than 65 million produced.”

Fuel efficiency has been another key driver in the development of disc braking systems – from lightweight materials where many calipers are now made of aluminum, in pursuit of ‘zero drag’ systems that produce the minimum of friction between caliper and rotor during non-braking service.

“ZF TRW has been a pioneer in brake systems for several decades and continues to innovate across all aspects of the technology to provide best-in-class solutions for light vehicles globally. Furthermore, advanced braking will be one of the key enablers of automated driving, and together with its broader portfolio and systems integration expertise, ZF TRW is ideally placed to drive this megatrend forward,” Meyer concluded.