Shaftec Calipers: Quality, Availability & Range Still Main Drivers for Success

Date: Monday 07 August 2023

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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!

We also asked some of our customers what they thought of the Shaftec Reman & Return programme:

“I ordered a set of remanufactured front brake calipers for my 2002 Kia Mentor automatic three or so months ago while a month ago I had to order front brake calipers for my 2000 Daihatsu Fourtrak. And between those two orders I had some cv joints for a 1999 Daihatsu Cuore automatic.

Looking first at the brake calipers the turnaround time was quick for the Mentor and the Fourtrak and if I recall it was less than a week in both cases. The garage who fitted them had no problems getting them sent from their motor factor, they were returned promptly and fitted perfectly. And I can confirm their performance is first class, as the Mentor covered 1335 in the following six days!

The cv joints also have been up to OE specification. The Cuore has covered just shy of 100,000 miles and had started clicking when accelerating and turning. With the new ones fitted all is back to normal. They fitted well too.”

Rich Barnett
Editor, thespecial.org.uk

And Robert Maclellan of Highland Motor Parts Ltd, Inverness told us this:

“Availability is key, so we work hard to avoid being out of stock of parts. But on occasion we turn to Shaftec’s Reman & Return programme when we’re struggling to source a brake caliper, driveshaft, steering pump, or steering rack. If you have a core unit available from a previous sale and it’s fit for remanufacture, Shaftec can uplift your unit, remanufacture the product and return to you all within 5-7 working days. The returned product arrives professionally packaged and covered by the same warranty as Shaftec’s off the shelf product. Shaftec’s Reman & Return solution allows us to say yes to sales when we would have had to say no.”

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