About the Company
Drum Brakes Made in the USA
Motor Wheel®, the manufacturer of CentriFuse brake drums and Motor Wheel automatic brake adjusters, is known to deliver products that provide lightweight durability, improved fuel efficiency, reduced maintenance and meet the demand for frequent braking. Our Centrifuse brake drums are designed and manufactured in the USA, along with the engineering and assembly of our automatic brake adjusters.
Over a Century of Dependability
Founded in 1898 by Georgia-born William Prudden and renamed Motor Wheel in 1920 after a merger with Gier Pressed Steel and Auto Wheel. By 1924 the company employed as many people as the State of Michigan did in 2000. By 1934, Motor Wheel controlled one-third of the nation's wheel business, more by far than any other single manufacturer.
1929: Motor Wheel Corporation introduces “CentriFuse” a centrifugally-cast composite brake drum
1940s: Motor Wheel CentriFuse brake drums are used on WWII Aircraft/Trucks due to performance & strength
1964: Motor Wheel was purchased by Goodyear Tire
1986: CentriFuse casting operations relocate to Chattanooga, TN. From Lansing, MI
2011: US Army specifies Motor Wheel CentriFuse brake drums for M870 trailer
2012: STEMCO acquires Motor Wheel Commercial Vehicle Systems
2014: Motor Wheel launches CentriFuse Heavy Duty drum for refuse, construction, and severe Service applications
2015: Motor Wheel changes CentriFuse drum color to blue to further differentiate the performance and quality of the CentriFuse product and to ensure customers are getting the proven performance, quality, and weight reduction they have come to expect from CentriFuse
2017: Motor Wheel produces the 15 millionth CentriFuse brake drum
2020: Motor Wheel® is acquired by Hendrickson Commercial Vehicle Systems