International Dealer News IDN 150 August/September 2019 | Page 20

news ROOM
Newfren - "certified quality
BRIEFS and continuous evolution"
NEWS
Newfren has invested heavily in new manufacturing
technology at its 10,000 sq m site near Turin.
MPN reports MIC data that puts the
number of dual-sport motorcycles sold in
Q2 2019 in USA (ADV/Adventure Touring
models) at about 11% of the market for
two-wheelers. Overall in 2018, the MIC
said that of the 12.2 million motorcycles
in use, 5% were dual-sport bikes and that
of the nearly 30 million people reported
as riding a motorcycle in 2018, nearly
10m of them ride both on-road and off-
road.
Annual SxS retail sales in the US
were higher than motorcycles for
the first time in 2018. Cited MIC
data puts US SxS sales at 458,000
new units in 2018, against 457,000
new motorcycles.
Triumph's UK and Ireland Sales Manager
Bruno Tagliaferri retired at the end of
August after 29 years with the company
and after 44 years in the motorcycle
industry, including time with Honda.
Tagliaferri was one of the first to join the
reborn Triumph in 1990.
As part of the celebrations for the
25th anniversary of the Ducati
916's production launch, the Ducati
Museum is now featuring design
guru Massimo Tamburini's 916. The
916 on display is one of the three
prototypes from which he
developed the bike until its
industrialisation in 1994. Tamburini,
who had already developed the
Paso 750 for Ducati, unleashed
what Ducati are describing as "a
real revolution" with the 916 with
aerodynamics and chassis
developed on the roads of Rimini
and at the Misano and Mugello
circuits for six years without ever
using the wind tunnel! The example
in the museum features details that
are more similar to those of the 916
SP series, the highest performing
model of the 916 series.
The Piaggio Museum in Pontedera (Pisa),
the largest motorcycle museum in Italy
and one of the biggest in Europe, has
been recorded in the TripAdvisor Hall of
Fame, obtaining a Certificate of
Excellence for the fifth consecutive year.
The 5,000 sq m museum first opened in
2000 and underwent a major
refurbishment in 2018. It has attracted
700,000 visitors since it opened and
features more than 250 historic vehicles.
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INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS
Newfren produces its own line of brake
shoes, brake pads, brake discs and
clutch discs near Turin and at its own
factory in Tunisia.
Founded in the 1950s by Alessandro
Barbero, the company is still in family
ownership with Valter Barbero at the
helm, and in recent years has invested
heavily in new manufacturing
technology at its 10,000 sq m site near
Turin and 3,000 sq m facility in Tunisia.
Ahead of industry requirements where
environmental manufacturing and
compound formula requirements are
concerned, Newfren has been granted
UNI EN ISO 9001-2000 certification for
their quality control systems and ABE
certification from the German KBA for
many of their products.
Speaking with Valter Barbero on the
Newfren booth at EICMA last year, it
was clear that he sees his company's
ability to achieve advanced recognition
status for its processes and product
quality as central to success in an
always competitive and ever-changing
market.
"As an aftermarket as well as OEM
supplier we have to ensure that our
procedures meet the very highest
standards at all times", Valter said.
"So, in the early 2000s we started to
certify our own ISO 9001 processes
and have subsequently also met the
updated ISO 9001:2015 standard.
"It is interesting though, because while
manufacturers are familiar with what
an ISO standard means, it is surprising
how many industry customers, and
especially consumers, still do not fully
realise just how high the quality bar is
set for a manufacturer to reach the
Newfren's
3,000 sq m
facility in
Tunisia.
standards - it is the ultimate assurance
of product quality, and nothing could
be more important where brake
components are concerned, but there
is still uncertainty about exactly what
these standards mean.
"ISO (International Organisation for
Standardisation) is a worldwide
federation of national standards
bodies, a non-governmental
organisation that comprises standards
bodies from more than 160 countries,
with one standards body representing
each member country.
Valter Barbero, seen here in
the middle at Newfren's
2018 EICMA booth.
"The ISO rules determine the
requirements of a management system
to certify the quality for an
organisation. The monitored
requirements are of a general nature
and can be implemented by any type of
organisation. The ISO 9001 is the
reference standard for those who want
to submit their production process to
quality control.
"The start-point for defining the
requirements are the needs that the
customer has of a product, and the
monitoring and standards of the entire
production process flow upwards from
that - the consumer's needs for a safe
Recently launched PRO RACE brake
shoes.
and reliable product are at the focus of
ISO 9001 in terms of how they apply to
a brake component manufacturer.
Every activity, application and
monitoring of activities and processes
is aimed at determining the maximum
satisfaction of the end user.
"Next to the evolution of the processes
to achieve that there is then the
development of the products
themselves. Here at Newfren we
continue to adapt our product lines to
the demands of the market and the
performance of new vehicles."
During 2019 Newfren demonstrated
its ongoing development of new
products that are tuned to the needs of
the market with the launch of what has
been described as a revolutionary line
of PRO RACE brake shoes, and as of
September 2019 Newfren will be
introducing a new line of Turin made
off-road brake discs.
"People sometimes think that ISO is a
single, settled and static concept, but it
isn't. In the motorcycle industry we all
live and work in a dynamic business
environment, and ISO is as much about
preparing for the manufacturing
challenges of the future as it is about
proving the quality of the way things
have been done. ISO is a platform that
allows a manufacturer to move
forward with R&D and to meet new
business opportunities and customer
requirements with confidence."
www.newfren.com