Brembo buys Hayes Lemmerz unit

With a mission to grow, the North American unit of Italian brake-maker Brembo bought the brake business of Northville wheel maker Hayes Lemmerz for $58 million, the companies announced Friday.

With the deal, Brembo will nearly double its North American business, which is mostly with Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp., said Adrian Smith, general manager of Brembo North America.

The move should be seen as the beginning of a growth strategy in North America, which he said is a critical market for Brembo.

By adding scale to the North American brake business, he aims to grow the business with sales to North American plants owned by Japanese and other foreign automakers.

"This should put us in a better position to approach the transplants," Smith said.