Brembo SpA Chairman Alberto Bombassei said the company is planning to expand its OEM business in North America.

Over the years, Brembo has burnished its reputation by its association with high-performance brands and motorsports teams as well as car buffs in the aftermarket.

But the Italian maker of braking components has recalibrated its strategy and is now after a larger share of the original equipment market, particularly in North America where it has steadily expanded its factory in Homer, Michigan, to supply a growing list of customers.

Brembo SpA Chairman Alberto Bombassei said during a ceremony at the plant tucked away amid the rolling hills of Southern Michigan 100 miles from Detroit that North America will become the company’s number one market by the end of 2014.

The company also built a caliper and corner module manufacturing facility in 2007. The site has been expanded three time since then.

“This expanded and modernized production facility represents a new foundation for Brembo in North America enabling us to increase our presence in the U.S. market and offer better service to our clients,” he said.

Brembo bought the plant as part of its acquisition of the Hayes-Lemmerz brakes disc division in 2007. The timing wasn’t the best, but it was renovated and expanded in 2008 and twice more in 2012 and 2013.

The company also built a caliper and corner module manufacturing facility adjacent to the disc plant in 2010 and the total manufacturing area is now approximately 440,000 square feet employing more than 450 people, compared with 110 in 2007. There are 47 processing lines and 12 painting lines.

In 2013, Brembo, which also moved work from Mexico into the Michigan plant, produced 10 million discs and 300,000 calipers and corner modules in Homer and expects production to increase by as much as 25% to 12.5 million discs and 400,000 calipers and modules in 2014.

Daniel Sandberg, president and chief executive officer of Brembo’s operations in North America, said the investment in Homer will allow the company to expand product offerings not only in North America, but also for customers across the globe. In addition, 95% of the parts manufactured in Homer go on new vehicles as original equipment.

The list of customers includes, Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which encouraged Brembo to continue to expand its presence in North America just after it brought the Chrysler Group out of bankruptcy in 2010.

“We are specialists in braking technology,” said Sandberg, and the company maintains a commitment of being a leader by making continuing investment in research and development, which is aided by its commitment to motor sports, Sandberg added. Brembo brakes are found on cars in Formula One, Indy Car and NASCAR as well as other series.

Currently 5% of the company’s revenue of $2.1 billion is spent on research and development and 10% of Brembo’s 17,000 employees around the world are focused on the development of new products.

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Brembo also supplies 100% of the brakes for high-performance brands such as Porsche, Ferrari and Lamborghini are also found on popular versions of the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang and the Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger.

Thanai Bernadini, Brembo’s director of communications and investor relations, said Brembo is growing and expanding its presence. But it hasn’t let the expansion dilute its quality or its commitment to cutting edge technology.

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Brembo isn’t using its financial strength to win more business in the mass market but thinks it great opportunity in the high performance and premium segments, which are growing, he said.

Due to Brembo’s long association with Ferrari, which goes back more than 40 years, Bombassei said he was very interested in watching FCA’s premium segment expansion plans unfold.

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FCA chief executive Sergio Marchionne said Brembo has always been a great partner over the years a suggested that other Italian companies could learn from its example.

“We share a common approach,” Marchionne said. “In an increasingly flat world, you can’t be safe in your home market unless you’re competitive everywhere. Other companies could learn from their example. They’ve been a great partner every step of the way.”