Custom industrial gear units with engineering, manufacturing, repair and condition monitoring for critical industrial processes
David Brown Santasalo
Huddersfield (UK) · Jyväskylä (FI)New on Amplifa
About David Brown Santasalo
David Brown Santasalo (DBS) develops, manufactures and services industrial gear units for critical industrial processes worldwide. The portfolio comprises new developments and custom gear units (spur, bevel-helical and planetary gearboxes), replacement gear units for third-party brands, and drivetrain components including couplings, guard covers and foundation accessories. In the aftermarket, the company offers repair, overhaul, re-engineering, inspection, spare parts, installation, around-the-clock field service and the remote monitoring system GearWatch (oil particle counting, oil condition and vibration monitoring). Using the DBS Transform 3D scanning process, rotating components of third-party gearboxes are reverse-engineered in less than ten hours of data capture. Customers come from industries such as mining, pulp and paper, cement, marine, metal processing, oil & gas and power generation. Founded in 1860, the company employs more than 890 people in the Industrial Business (About statement: over 1,200) at around 25 sites on six continents. The majority owner is a private equity fund managed by Stellex Capital Management LLC.
- Site
- HD4 5DD Huddersfield (UK)
- Processes
- Gearbox manufacturing (modular spur/bevel-helical/planetary gearboxes), Custom gearbox development (custom gearboxes, design & engineering), Manufacturing of drivetrain components (gearboxes, couplings, guard covers, foundation accessories), Product inspection (testing of gear units, material and dimensional control), Assembly and commissioning (installation & commissioning, turnkey drivetrains), Reverse engineering / re-engineering of gearboxes (incl. new manufacture of spare parts according to, 3D scanning / DBS Transform (structured-light 3D scanning for replacing rotating components,, Gearbox repair and overhaul (repair, rebuild, refurbishment, 24/7 emergency service,
- Materials
- Steel (cast), Non-ferrous metals (cast), Casting alloy (Ferguson-Brown tractor components, historical), 3D Scanning / Reverse Engineering (DBS Transform), Heat treatment / advanced hardening
- Certificates
- ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001
- Founded
- 1860
- Employees
- over 890 (Industrial
- Industries
- Mining & Minerals, Pulp, Paper & Tissue, Cement, Marine & Port Operations, Metal Processing, Oil & Gas
- 01
Gear design and sizing (engineering)
- 02
Manufacturing of gear units and drivetrain components
- 03
Heat treatment / advanced hardening of spare parts
- 04
Product inspection and testing of gear units
- 05
Assembly, installation and commissioning
- 06
Service: inspection, repair, upgrade, spare parts
- 07
Condition monitoring GearWatch (remote monitoring)
Materials and Processes
Steel (cast)
Historically cast gears made of cast steel, the founding product of the company established in 1860 (source Wikipedia, low evidence quality).
Non-ferrous metals (cast)
Historical non-ferrous metal casting for gear components documented (source Wikipedia, low evidence quality).
3D Scanning / Reverse Engineering (DBS Transform)
Structured-light 3D scanning replaces rotating components of third-party gear units with data capture in less than ten hours.
Heat treatment / advanced hardening
Used in spare parts manufacturing and in the re-engineering of replacement gears.
Sites
Huddersfield (Prospect Works)
GBUK headquarters, Manufacturing & Service Centre
- Structured-light 3D scanner (DBS Transform)
Jyväskylä
FIFlagship manufacturing and service, energy-efficient new-build plant (hydropower, approx. 600 t CO2e saving p. a.)
- Structured-light 3D scanner (DBS Transform)
- GearWatch condition monitoring systems (DBS100/DBS200, oil and vibration sensors)
Products and Components
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gearbox manufacturing (modular spur/bevel-helical/planetary gearboxes)Machining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Custom gearbox development (custom gearboxes, design & engineering)Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Manufacturing of drivetrain components (gearboxes, couplings, guard covers, foundation accessories)Machining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Product inspection (testing of gear units, material and dimensional control)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Assembly and commissioning (installation & commissioning, turnkey drivetrains)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Reverse engineering / re-engineering of gearboxes (incl. new manufacture of spare parts according toEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3D scanning / DBS Transform (structured-light 3D scanning for replacing rotating components,Engineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gearbox repair and overhaul (repair, rebuild, refurbishment, 24/7 emergency service,Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gearbox upgrade/overhaul (refurbishment to increase capacity, elimination ofEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gearbox inspection (vibration analysis, video borescopy, oil lab analysis, condition report)Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Field service / site services (installation, maintenance, inspection, failure analysis, emergencyAssembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Spare parts production (spares, advanced hardening techniques, re-engineering of replacement gears)Machining | – | – | – | – | – |
| Condition monitoring GearWatch (inductive oil particle counting, oil condition monitoring,Testing | – | – | – | – | – |
| Asset management / maintenance planning (planned maintenance programmes, asset mapping)Assembly | – | – | – | – | – |
| Replacement gearboxes (replacement gearboxes, OEM quality, also for third-party brands, identicalEngineering | – | – | – | – | – |
| Historical casting production (cast steel and non-ferrous metal casting, gear casting since 1860)Casting | – | – | – | – | Steel, Non-ferrous metals |
8 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structured-light 3D scanner | – | – | – | – | – |
| DBS100 Smart Terminal (condition monitoring data capture, 1-2 gear units) | David Brown Santasalo DBS100 | – | – | – | – |
| DBS200 Smart Terminal (condition monitoring data capture, up to 10 gear units) | David Brown Santasalo DBS200 | – | – | – | – |
| Inductive oil particle counter (minimum particle size 70 µm ferromagnetic) | – | – | – | – | – |
| Wireless vibration sensors (3-axis, up to 6.3 kHz, battery life up to 5.5 years, mesh network) | GearWatch Vibration Easy | – | – | – | – |
| Premium vibration sensors (100 and 500 mV/g, M12 connector, top/side exit) | David Brown Santasalo GearWatch Premium Vibration Sensors | – | – | – | – |
| Offline oil filtration system (motor, pump, filter) | – | – | – | – | – |
| Oil quality sensor (online: oil ageing, temperature, moisture, fluid mixing) | – | – | – | – | – |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality and Certifications
The manufacturing sites are accredited to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. Manufacturing is carried out to ISO standards; condition monitoring engineers are certified as Vibration Analysts (ISO 18436.2) and Lubricant Analysts (ISO 18436.4).
| Evidence | Huddersfield | Jyväskylä |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 9001 | ||
| ISO 14001 | ||
| ISO 45001 |
History
- 1860
David Brown founds the company in Huddersfield (cast gears for the textile industry).
- 1902
Relocation to Park Works, Huddersfield.
- 1913
Joint venture with Timken (USA) for Radicon worm gearboxes; until 1921 the world's largest manufacturer of worm gearboxes.
- 1935
Patent for the Merritt-Brown tank gearbox (including Churchill, Centurion Tank).
- 1946
Acquisition of Aston Martin and Lagonda by Sir David Brown.
- 1972
Sale of the tractor division to Tenneco (Case).
- 1998
David Brown acquired by Textron.
- 2008
Sale of the gearbox division to Clyde Blowers.
- 2016
Merger of David Brown and Santasalo to form David Brown Santasalo.
- 2021
Commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi); Phase 1 of the flagship site Jyväskylä (approx. 10,000 m²) completed.
- 2022
Completion of the energy-efficient Jyväskylä plant (hydropower, approx. 600 t CO2e saving p. a.) and the new Changshu plant, China.
- 2024
SBTi validation of the Scope 1/2 targets (−53.9% by 2032, base year 2021) in April.