Company History

Founded in 1977 by Bill Wood, Wilwood Engineering became a pioneer in the design and manufacturing of industrial engineered, turnkey brake systems in the automotive racing and aftermarket, high-performance disc brake, and component business.

For more than 43 years, Wilwood has been on the cutting edge of technological advancements within the highly competitive racing/street performance industry. We have continued to perform at the highest level in some of the most grueling environments and positioned ourselves to bring our expertise to your project with guaranteed results.

In the early 1990s, Bill Wood expanded Wilwood’s market reach and began Tier 1 Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) and supply with off-highway vehicle braking systems. These industrial braking systems are engineered to meet customer specifications and designed to perform at the highest and most abusive levels of any braking system.

As a potential industrial OEM customer, you will benefit from our years of Research & Development (R&D) coupled with our technological advancements through materials, manufacturing methods, and design, all at a very competitive OE cost.

Continued company growth includes a focus on the industrial OEM business. Currently, Wilwood has more than 50 active OE customers around the world, including:

• Tier 1 supplier to AM General of brake calipers, rotors, brake pads, and chassis components for all military Humvees since 2008
• ATV’s, UTV’s, electric vehicles and snowmobiles
• Agriculture, construction, mining and logging industries
• Reconnaissance, surveillance and other military vehicles
• US Government direct supplier
• Heavy equipment and other various industrial applications

Wilwood’s constant pursuit of technological superiority is incorporated into every product you purchase. Industrial OEM customers receive the benefits of over 43 years of advancements in research, bespoke design, and manufacturing of successful racing brake systems.

Wilwood Engineering’s OE business accounts for approximately 50% of our total company sales. Product diversity and continued enhancements in the racing/aftermarket vehicle brakes and components divisions remain a sharp focus. Designing new technologies and materials transcends to OE products, retaining Wilwood as a leader in industrial braking technology throughout all business segments.

Company Business

Wilwood Engineering, Inc. is a privately-owned firm incorporated in the state of California and spearheaded by its founder Bill Wood. The company has over 200,000 sq.ft. of production, distribution, and office space in Camarillo, California, and employs approximately 300 full-time employees, many of whom have been with Wilwood for more than 30 years.

Product Line

Wilwood Engineering tools and produces thousands of off-the-shelf industrial OE products, including master cylinders, calipers, rotors, hydraulic valves, brake pads, hats, pedal assemblies, and steering components. In-house tooling and manufacturing give Wilwood the ability to quickly customize and adapt to meet each customer’s fitment and performance requirements.

The Camarillo facility can perform production runs in quantities of hundreds of thousands per annum to dozens per annum, depending on your needs. Wilwood offers Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) pricing and has full-time, quality control staff on-site, with 100% testing of outbound products.

Research & Development

The Engineering Research & Development (R&D) team consists of an in-house Design and Engineering Center, including highly experienced engineers, designers, programmers, and drafters. The R&D team is versed in SAE, FMVSS and TUV braking standards, and uses the LAN-managed CAD system, SolidWorks, PDMWorks, and FEA in the Windows operating environment. Wilwood can import/export CAD data in most formats and transfer data to your facility via their secure, dedicated FTP server.

Wilwood has an on-site test lab, which includes a full-time staff of technicians certified in component installation and vehicle testing, data acquisition, brake dynamometers, and cycle testing.

Wilwood also has an in-house prototype machine shop with a full-time staff of machinists and programmers qualified to use the vertical and horizontal CNC mills, CNC lathe, various manual lathes, mills, and grinders. The team and machines can rapidly provide turnkey, short-run parts, in-house.

Decades of research and development go into every product Wilwood produces. Brutal testing standards and technological advances in materials and manufacturing methods, allow Wilwood to design their braking systems at competitive OE costs.

Supply Management & Quality Control

Wilwood uses a global supplier base managed by in-house engineers, buyers, and supply chain personnel with access to multiple sources for high-volume components and materials. Sourcing is a joint effort between Engineering, Quality Control (QC), and the Supply Management departments.

Wilwood products are ISO compliant. The in-house QC facility runs two shifts to monitor all phases of production and ensure the highest quality.

Wilwood also has two environmentally controlled inspection rooms, a Coordinate-Measure Machine (CMM), optical comparator, and gauges for materials testing.

Quality control documentation is tailored to OE customer requirements and may include full PPAP per AIAG standards, DFMEA, PFMEA, manufacturing control plans, and statistical inspection data.

Manufacturing & Assembly

With more than 43 years of experience in producing products that meet the rigorous standards of high-performance racing, Bill Wood has continued to set up strict lot control for traceability. The company uses Just-In-Time (JIT) and Lean Manufacturing practices integrated with a scalable Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system.

Technicians operate more than three dozen CNC machining and turning centers. Raw materials and unfinished goods are stocked to ensure quick turn-around to meet customer demands. Wilwood has a large set of machining and testing fixtures designed and built in-house, as well as special tooling to streamline production. All finished products are machined, assembled, and tested on-site.

Sales and Support

Wilwood’s on-site Sales and Technical Support staff are available to answer your questions promptly and thoroughly. Engineers and Applications staff is also available for field support at your testing/installation site. They have experience at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Chrysler Proving Grounds, Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC), and various customer test facilities.

Wilwood can receive and process orders electronically and work within OE clients’ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. In-house Logistics Specialists are available to assist with materials handling and expediting, special packaging needs, including returnable containers, and can assist with shipping or freight logistics.

Our Mission

Wilwood strives toward its only mission set forth by founder Bill Wood more than 43 years ago: Provide a superior product backed by reliable support at a competitive price, and ensuring on-time delivery.

Summary

Bill Wood has built a company comprised of experts in the design and manufacture of industrial brake systems. A long history of industry experience coupled with financial stability, has evolved Wilwood Engineering into a turnkey operation and crucial resource to OEM customers. Strict quality control standards, a loyal supplier network, resources and expertise to integrate new manufacturing methods in our framework ensure the highest quality to customers. Our ability to understand client needs and create proven, cost-effective solutions with short lead times sets us apart from our competition. Let Wilwood Engineering be your braking solutions partner.