AFT Sets up Chinese Subsidiaries

Source: AFT s.p.a. / COMEC announcement

PIACENZA, Italy – In order to better serve its customers and to achieve its goals and targets, Comec, Arga and Fabes of AFT, a leading company involved in industrial automation, will be opening subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

These strategic moves will allow AFT and its brands to strengthen and empower its presence in ASIA Pacific and China.

Comec grinding machines are used in manufacturing brake pads, brake shoes, and truck linings. Comec grinders are a common sight across the brake industry. The grinders are used to refine the shape of brake friction after it is initially formed, including slotting and chamfers in pads.

The Italian company with about 50 employees, took off during the 1980s when it introduced machines that quickly made it the market leader.

Paolo Frati, Sales and Marketing Manager for Comec, explained that “the big surprise when Comec jumped into the market was the flexibility and productivity of our machines.”

The first generation of Comec grinders were “designed to minimize or cancel totally the necessity to have dedicated tooling,” he said, making them much simpler to operate. They were also fast, able to produce 2,400 parts per hour, “which was incredible at that time.”