About the company

80 years ago, SABÓ set up shop in Brazil. Today, it stands out as a strategic global supplier of sealing solutions.

SABÓ makes oil seals, gaskets, and integrated sealing systems, and supplies genuine products for top carmakers and auto parts companies to use in their assembly lines worldwide, as well as the aftermarket. With a R$500M revenue in Brazil, and R$20M to be invested over the next 3 years, SABÓ is recognized for offering advanced, unique, top-quality products and services, and the excellence of its lean, automated, connected sealing production lines (World Class Manufacturing, Lean Manufacturing, and Industry 4.0).

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International Expansion

SABÓ began exporting in the 1970s and, today, is recognized for supplying products for major auto parts production centers.

In the 1970s and 80s, SABÓ Brazil sold a seal vulcanization design and process technology to a renowned German “O-ring” manufacturer. The deal encompassed product technology, processes, and even rubber injection equipment. Back then, SABÓ had a company to design, develop, and produce equipment for elastomer injection, a pioneer in the sealing segment (design, process, and production).

Propelled by the start of Mercosur in 1992, the company acquired two competitors in Argentina and, in 1993, with the European market expected to take off, it bought out KACO, a 100-year-old German company and the country’s second largest sealing producer, with three local plants and one in Austria. Additionally, led by SABÓ, in 1997, the group started to operate a new plant in Hungary, in the city of Enese.

Aiming to expand its business in the American market and meet the demands of clients there, in 1993, SABÓ set up its first technical-commercial office in Michigan, leading to the 2007 opening of its manufacturing facility in Lincolnton, NC.

In 2009, through its subsidiary KACO, SABÓ opened its first factory in China, in Wuxi, a fast-growing market undergoing a process of great technological advancement. Offering technology that had never been available there, the company has grown exponentially, producing seals, sealing systems, and bonded piston seals, supplying products for both local auto manufacturers and foreign carmakers that produce locally.

In 2014, SABÓ consolidated KACO’s German plant and its American operations, creating the KACO Group, whose branches already included plants in Austria, Hungary, and China.

In that same year, the ZHONGDING Group teamed up with KACO by acquiring an 80% share of the group, headquartered in Germany. This Chinese-Brazilian partnership aims, among other things, to expand in the Chinese and American markets, beginning with the opening of a second plant in China, in Anhui, in 2015; the acquisition of a 100K m² lot to build a third seal manufacturing plant in China; and tripling the size of the North Carolina factory (from 4K to 12K m²).

Unique Technology

Undoubtedly, SABÓ stands out for producing sealing systems that employ advanced product and process technology.

Reduced-friction Oil Seals and Sealing Systems. These products were developed in tandem with some of the world’s top automakers’ and automotive parts company’s engineering departments, involving the use of 6 sigma tools, FEA (Finite Elements), DOE (Design of Experiments), injection flow simulations, and sealing service life simulations.

Gasket development for transmission and engine caps. The gaskets are designed with aluminum + elastomer casings. Nanotechnology is used to bond them, providing chemical adherence between the elastomer and the aluminum casing, a fully environmentally-friendly process.

Production Process Technology also sets SABÓ apart, with nanotechnology to assist production. Highly automated production lines and robust processes every step of the way: vulcanization, grinding, spring mounting, electronic inspection (Automatic Inspection Machine – AIM), automated spring mounting, grease application, and automated packaging. Advanced technology throughout the process, adding value to the product.

Our production lines are considered by the world’s major automakers as World Class Manufacturing. Also in 2016, fully-automated, highly-connected lines were implemented, including real-time processing and M2M interactions (Industry 4.0). Today, SABÓ is recognized by the main carmakers, auto parts companies, government agencies, and Brazilian industries in general as one of Brazil’s most productive companies.

About the company

Watch our video

International Expansion

Unique Technology

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