Brunner sees growth opportunities for employees in Medina

Company, acquired by Hendrickson last year, looking to fill 60 positions locally

Photos by Tom Rivers: Brian Peyatt, plant manager for Brunner in medina, led tours of the factory on bates Road on Saturday. It was the first tour open to the community in more than a decade. The company makes brakes for tractor-trailers, buses and dump trucks.

MEDINA – Brunner International opened the doors to its factory on Bates Road to the community on Saturday and attendance was brisk.

Employees were happy to show off the workplace to friends and family, and Medina community members welcomed the chance to see the manufacturer which has robots doing some of repetitive tasks, forges heating steel to 2,200 degrees, and about 220 other workers.

Brunner has about 60 positions open right now, from entry level to skilled trades as machine operators, fabricators, electricians and in maintenance. People can apply in person at Brunner or through the Brunner website.

Brunner has had a presence in medina since 1992, moving into the former Abex Corporation site that had been shut down and vacant for seven years before Brunner moved in.

Brunner had a manufacturing site in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It has kept that site in Canada while growing in Medina, making brakes and components for heavy-duty trucks and trailers.

Jermy Zingo of Holley, a 14-year employee at Brunner, shows his daughter Evelyn the finished product at Brunner. The truck brake weighs about 250 pounds.

The company last year was sold to Hendrickson, a long-time customer. Hendrickson is based in Illinois. It sees strong potential in Medina with a dedicated core of employees and access to lower-cost hydropower, said Brian Peyatt, the plant manager.

Peyatt has worked at Brunner for 12 years. He said Saturday’s community open house was a first in his tenure at Brunner.

“We want to introduce ourselves to the community and show them what we do,” he said.

Hendrickson has factories in several countries, and US sites in Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, Texas, Kentucky, South Dakota, Indiana and New York (Medina).

In announcing the acquisition of Brunner on Oct. 1, 2023, Hendrickson said Brunner’s primary product lines of brake shoes and s-cams complement Hendrickson’s primary business of designing and manufacturing suspension systems for the medium- and heavy-duty truck and trailer markets.

The Brunner product brand will be kept and used going forward, Hendrickson officials said.

“We are excited about this acquisition, as it will provide a platform for Hendrickson to expand our core competency in braking and provide additional components that will enhance our existing product portfolio,” said Matt Joy, president and chief executive officer of Hendrickson. “We look forward to working with our new associates and strengthening our business serving the Commercial Truck and Trailer industry.”

Saamir Rahman, materials manager and director of continuous improvement for Brunner, shows some of the brake components made by Brunner. About 60 people were on the tour for the first three hours on Saturday.

Brunner has recently added a few of the laid off workers from the Sumitomo Rubber in the Town of Tonawanda. The factory abruptly closed last month, putting 1,550 people out of work.

Brunner went to a job fair for those displaced workers. Peyatt urges people to give Brunner a try. The company offers competitive wages, a 401K retirement plan, and health care, vision and dental benefits.

Peyatt said employees also can feel pride in making the brakes for trucks and buses.

“Ninety percent of the time you’re out on a drive you’re probably near something we built,” he said about the company’s brake products.