Every time a heavy truck or bus in India brakes to a halt, there is a good chance the friction material doing the work came from a single factory cluster in Tamil Nadu. Sundaram Brake Linings Ltd (SBL) has been making those materials-asbestos-free from the start-since it began production on 5 September 1974, as part of the TVS Group, one of India’s largest automotive-component conglomerates. Its recurring approach is to lock itself into the vehicle at the design stage: it develops and homologates its brake linings and pads for specific vehicle models, which then makes it the sole or main supplier for the life of that model, a position it has now secured on almost every BS VI commercial vehicle sold in India.
Business segments
A single engine, but one that powers three distinct customer channels-vehicle factories, export distributors, and the replacement market-all from the same friction-material technology.
1. Friction materials: the brake linings and pads that stop India’s commercial vehicles
SBL is the preferred original-equipment supplier of asbestos-free brake linings and disc pads for virtually every medium and heavy commercial vehicle maker in India, and it exports those same products to over 60 countries.
- Designed into the vehicle from day one - SBL’s products are homologated for almost all BS VI compliant commercial vehicles in India, meaning its friction materials are tested and approved as part of the vehicle’s design; once approved, the raw-material mix cannot be changed without extensive re-testing, creating a powerful barrier to competitors.
- A single or major source supplier to the OEMs - the company is either the single or the major source of friction materials for most Indian commercial vehicle manufacturers, so when vehicle production rises, SBL’s domestic OEM sales rise with it.
- Two routes to the repair garage - in the independent aftermarket, SBL sells through wholesale distributors who reach small retailers, and since FY23 it has also sold directly to large stockists, a channel that grew to ₹2,002 lakhs in FY25 and gives it a tighter grip on replacement demand.
- Exports built on regulatory shifts - nearly 40% of turnover comes from exports, led by North America and Australia, where SBL introduced premium copper-free brake pads to meet new environmental rules; it has since added lined shoe assemblies for the same markets.
- Five plants, one state, one process - all five manufacturing plants sit in Tamil Nadu, and the company runs them on 86% renewable energy, having replaced furnace-oil heating with electric mould heating and resized compressors to cut energy waste.
2. Composite products: the lightweight-materials bet that has not yet left the lab
SBL is using the same glass-fibre and phenolic-resin know-how it has refined for four decades in brake linings to develop lightweight carbon- and glass-fibre parts for electric vehicles, drones, and industrial equipment-but this business is still nascent and does not yet contribute meaningfully to sales.
- Same chemistry, new shape - the company’s core material is a functional composite of glass fibre infused with phenolic epoxy, loaded with friction modifiers and lubricants; it is now applying that expertise to structural parts that need strength without weight.
- A pipeline of prototypes - development projects include GFRP battery support structures for electric commercial vehicles, CFRP drone structural parts for defence and agriculture, and carbon-fibre body parts for domestic two-wheeler EV applications.
- Waiting for commercial lift-off - the business does not yet contribute meaningfully to overall sales, and the company has been exploring non-friction composite opportunities since at least FY21, indicating a long gestation.
Group structure and partners
SBL is a standalone entity with no subsidiaries or joint ventures, and since early 2022 its promoter has been a single-family holding company within the broader TVS Group.
- A clean corporate structure - the company has no subsidiaries, associate companies, or joint ventures, operating as a single-entity, single-segment business.
- Promoter realigned by family arrangement - under a composite scheme effective 6 January 2022, the 32.67% promoter stake held by TVS Group holding companies was demerged into Madurai Alagar Enterprises Pvt Ltd, a company majority-owned by the K Mahesh family, making it the new promoter without altering SBL’s management or day-to-day functioning.
- Brand use secured without royalty - a TVS family brand agreement, to which SBL adhered in May 2021, governs the use of the “TVS”, “Sundaram”, and “Sundram” marks, with no monetary consideration payable by the company.
- Related-party trade with group firms - SBL sells goods to Brakes India Private Limited and buys raw materials from Sundaram Industries, Alagar Resins, and Alagar Farms, all related parties within the TVS ecosystem.