Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic Brakes GmbH (BSCCB), headquartered in Meitingen near Augsburg, Germany, is a global leader in the development and production of high-performance carbon-ceramic brake discs for the high-performance and premium automotive sectors. As a joint venture between the technology leaders Brembo and SGL Carbon, the company combines in-depth materials know-how with highly automated manufacturing processes and state-of-the-art quality management systems. With around 650 highly qualified employees, BSCCB produces carbon-ceramic brake discs for the most demanding applications in sports cars, high-performance vehicles and premium vehicles.
Context
The production of carbon-ceramic brake discs is characterized by long, multi-stage process chains. From the production of raw parts to thermal treatments, machining and coating processes to final testing and approval steps, the components go through numerous work steps and quality tests. Production is organized on the basis of batch and serial numbers at the same time to ensure complete traceability.
Due to the safety-critical function of the brake discs, extremely high quality requirements and standards apply. Each individual brake disc must be traceable for 30 years – including process data, test values, batch information and materials used. This long-term traceability requires a consistent interaction of ERP, MES, BDE/MDE, SPC and QMS systems.
All commercial and logistical processes – including order processing, materials management, production, warehousing and shipping – are mapped via SAP at BSCCB. For a factory and capacity expansion at the Meitingen and Stezzano sites, the company is investing around €150 million in new halls, additional production lines and modern machines by 2027. In the course of this strategic expansion, the digitization of the shop floor below SAP was also fundamentally rethought. The aim was to consistently further develop the existing shop floor solutions and replace them with an integrated, future-proof MES/APS concept.
For more detailed production planning under SAP, continuous production data acquisition directly on the shop floor and more transparent machine and process data collection, a powerful, modularly scalable solution was required that can be perfectly integrated into the existing IT business.
Challenges
BSCCB manufactures in 3-shift operation in a complex production system that includes both batch-guided and serial number-based processes. As part of the strategic development, this production system will be transformed into an increasingly automated, cyber-physical production system. Industry 4.0 approaches, digital twins and a close coupling of physical production facilities with digital factory models play a central role in this.
Against this background, the focus in 2024/2025 was on the following requirements in particular:
- Realistic detailed planning of complex production steps at APS/MES level below SAP
- Detailed, timely production data acquisition (PDA) for orders, operations, times, quantities and status information
- Reliable machine data acquisition (MDE) for machine utilization, conditions, faults, key figures and technical process data
- End-to-end statistical process control (SPC) to ensure high quality requirements and to detect deviations at an early stage
- Ensuring seamless traceability over decades in the interaction of SAP, MES, BDE/MDE, SPC and QMS (Siemens Quality / Siemens Quality Management System)
After an intensive selection project with technological evaluation, BSCCB chose software4production (S4P) as a supplier of modular and future-proof factory software. As a strategic partner, S4P was to shape the digital transformation on the shop floor below SAP, integrating production planning, production control as well as data and quality management.
In the course of this realignment, the decision was made to separate the production data acquisition (PDA) from the existing Siemens Opcenter and replace it with dedicated solutions from S4P. At the same time, Siemens Quality will remain a quality management and QMS solution and will be seamlessly connected to S4P's new shop floor systems. The new solution had to integrate gradually, low-risk and seamlessly into the existing SAP and IT landscape, while at the same time meeting the high requirements for quality, traceability and regulatory compliance.
Solutions
Since 2024/2025, BSCCB has been using almost all of software4production's core solutions along the entire value chain. This creates an end-to-end digital factory platform that closely interlinks planning, control, recording and quality assurance:
- 4APS for real-time digital production planning
- 4BDE for production data acquisition
- 4MDE for Machine Data Acquisition
- 4SPC for statistical process control
- 4PRO for process and production control
The solutions integrate into the existing SAP environment and create a consistent database from planning to execution.
Results and Benefits
With the combination of 4APS, 4BDE,4MDE, 4SPC and 4PRO from software4production, BSCCB has implemented an end-to-end, modularly scalable MES/APS architecture under SAP. The solution supports:
- Industry 4.0-capable, cyber-physical production systems
- Realistic detailed planning of the complex carbon-ceramic process chains
- Transparent operating and machine data acquisition in real time
- Robust statistical process control and seamless traceability over 30 years
- Seamless integration of SAP, Siemens Quality and S4P solutions
BSCCB is thus ideally positioned to support growth, capacity expansions and the highest quality requirements in the high-performance and premium automotive segment with a modern, digital factory platform.
Project profile
- Company: Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic Brakes GmbH
- Location: 86405 Meitingen
- Industry: Automotive, carbon-ceramic brakes, series production
- Products: Carbon-ceramic brake discs, high-performance brakes, brake system components for sports and premium vehicles
- Employees: around 650
- ERP system: SAP
- S4P Solutions: 4APS, 4BDE, 4MDE, 4SPC, 4PRO
Learn more
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