When Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake reached the 3-million-unit production mark of the Bendix ADB22X air disc brake, team members at the Bowling Green, Ky., facility where it’s produced celebrated by signing the milestone brake.Production of the Bendix ADB22X air disc brake has eclipsed the 3-million-unit mark in North America.
“Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems and Dana Commercial Vehicle Products had only formed the joint venture Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake (BSFB) about a year before we started producing the ADB22X back in 2005, but we knew we were on the verge of changing the North American commercial vehicle landscape,” says Nicole Oreskovic, BSFB product line director, air disc brakes.
“Air-disc-braked trucks had been the European norm for years and we were excited to pioneer their advantages on this side of the Atlantic. Fourteen years of research and development, optimization, sustained fleet adoption and road-proven ROI later, we couldn’t be prouder of how our air disc brakes have helped make vehicles and roadways safer, and we’re excited about building on its legacy as we continue to improve Bendix safety technologies,” Oreskovic says.
Since its launch, the ADB22X has addressed the commercial vehicle industry’s need for reliable, high-performing and high-value air disc brakes, delivering a lightweight design that provides shorter stopping distances than drum brakes and extended brake system life, the company says. As fleets and owner-operators realized its performance and maintenance benefits, demand for the ADB22X grew. Bendix says it took eight years for BSFB to reach the 400,000-unit production mark in 2013, but just five more to hit the 2 million mark in December 2017.
The brake is available through all major North American commercial truck manufacturers, including Peterbilt Motors Company, Kenworth, International, Daimler Trucks North America, Volvo Trucks NA and Mack Trucks. The ADB22X has been standard equipment on the steer axle of all Peterbilt and Kenworth Class 8 tractors since 2013 and has since been made standard on all wheel-ends of Peterbilt’s Model 579 and the Kenworth T680. International Trucks’ LT Series, along with a number of their vocational models, also equips the brake standard on all axles. The Bendix ADB22X-LT air disc brake — engineered specifically for trailers — is available at all major trailer manufacturers and is the preferred ADB at Utility Trailer, Bendix says.
Three of the leading full-line North American school bus manufacturers — Blue Bird Corporation, Thomas Built Buses and IC Bus from Navistar — offer the ADB22X on their vehicles, as does Motor Coach Industries.
BSFB produces the Bendix ADB22X and Bendix ADB22X-LT air disc brakes at its wheel-end manufacturing operation in Bowling Green, Ky.
