Jacobs Vehicle Systems, a worldwide manufacturer of heavy duty diesel engine retarding and valve actuation systems, shipped the 50,000th engine brake manufactured at its European facility near Brno in the Czech Republic, to Daimler. Jacobs currently supplies all European Daimler orders from Brno.
With headquarters in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and a manufacturing facility in Suzhou in Eastern China, Brno has become Jacobs’ third production location as the company continues to expand its global capacity. To date, Jacobs has supplied over 8 million engine brakes to heavy duty engine manufacturers and commercial vehicle manufacturers worldwide.
The plant in Brno is expected to play an important role in the further growth of the company. Future, phased development of the 2,000 square-metre plant in Brno could see production gradually increase to 200,000 units annually. The semi-automated production and test assembly lines in Brno were designed and manufactured exclusively by Jacobs in Bloomfield. Full traceability of every single component is ensured, right down to the assembly of a single rocker brake. Over 20 new jobs were created when the factory opened.
“We are very pleased with the output of our Brno plant as it completes its first year of operation,” said Sam Fabian, vice president of global operations at Jacobs Vehicle Systems. “The establishment of a production facility in Europe is a win for us and our customers. Thanks to its strategic location in the middle of the continent, Brno represents an ideal base: close to the customer and very efficient. We are able to respond very flexibly to the needs of our European partners. We are happy that “Made in Brno” Jacobs products are used in vehicles all over Europe.”
Since September 2019, Jacobs has manufactured all engine brakes for Daimler in Europe in Brno, with the supply of Daimler’s North American orders satisfied by Jacobs’ production facility in Bloomfield, U.S.A. The partnership between Daimler and Jacobs dates back to 1962 when engine brakes were first installed on a Detroit Diesel Series 71 engine. Since 1984, the Jacobs Engine Brake engine brake has been a standard feature available on Daimler’s Heavy Duty engine platform.
The Jacobs Engine Brake delivers performance of up to 480 kW to the six-cylinder engine that is available with displacement ranges between 10.7 and 15.6 litres and output levels from 240 kW to 480 kW. Heavy duty commercial vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz Actros, Antos, and Arocs, the Freightliner Cascadia, as well as touring coaches and inter-urban buses from Mercedes-Benz and Setra, are powered by this engine with an integrated Jacobs Engine Brake.
