Inside Galfer USA’s New Distribution Network

Galfer Brakes have been producing high-performance brake parts for nearly 75 years, but the Spanish-based company is revamping its U.S. distribution network. The old distributor is out, and Galfer will now run Galfer USA on its own, as a subsidiary of the European HQ. Back in November at the EICMA show, we caught up with Armando Riva, who is in charge of setting up the new American outpost. It’s been a whirlwind ride to get the program up and running, but Riva is confident for a good 2026.

Racer X: Okay, so you had a whirlwind here. You're with Galfer, and Galfer is basically setting up operations in America. And you've been put in charge of this?
Yes. Pretty quickly! So three months ago, I was offered the opportunity to join the Galfer team. You know, Galfer is a 70-year plus company based in Barcelona. And they are starting operations in North America. So I'm going to be the lead of this operations and we're going to be based in Orlando. So it's very interesting times for me for sure.

Yes. Because you were previously working in Michigan for a different company. So you had to move to Florida, change companies and you're in charge of setting it up.
Exactly. So, the way they sold the project to me is starting from scratch. Yeah. And believe me, it's starting from scratch! I was not part of choosing the location, but I am being part of setting up everything from the inside. So even from buying the furniture to hiring the staff, to allocating the stock to talking to customers, to defining contracts. So the full project.

And are you collecting dealers, distributors, all of that?
Yes. So right now that's what we're trying to set up a good base, which I think we did the few first steps. We're setting up this location at the right the right place with the right product. And now we are taking it to a second step, which is touching base with all the distribution.

Are you building a team to do that of reps or things like that?
So right now we are very focused on building the team internally. So I lead the structure, then we have a customer service and a warehouse manager. Then we will have a fourth resource based on the logistic side. In 2026 we want to expand to sales. So right now we're setting up everything like as an internal team, but we are already talking about maybe some reps helping us. To be able to go everywhere in the U.S. and Canada you need you need your arms and legs to be very long!

So Galfer has already been in America with a previous distributor. How much knowledge do you folks have based on that? Do you at least have some knowledge?
So we have that knowledge. We have the knowledge because of course the distributor here was in the States for many years. And one of the good things is that the market knows the product. That's the first step. They know the name Galfer. Now we are gathering more information also from the customers they were dealing with. So right now we're building that relationship. You know, they have to get to know us understand that we're based in Orlando, and the product will be based in Orlando. So it's building that relationship, getting their trust and start from there with them.

So as far as Galfer, you said 70 years?
I think we're getting closer to 75 years! It's a privately owned company by the family. So they are very focused on the innovation and the quality of our product.

That's what I was going to get to. The company leans on the technology side and the performance side.
Absolutely. I think this is in their DNA. It's a huge win to have a product that is known for innovation, for taking it to the next level. Our catalog has probably around 1500 part numbers between rotors and pads. And that’s only motorcycles! We are completely focused on the motorcycle market.

Yes. Is there new stuff coming all the time?
All the time, yes. So we have we have quite a good news that we're not able to reveal right now. But there is, in 2026, we're trying to launch good and very important products. We like to say that Galfer products go straight from the track to the road. Anything we learn in racing we build into what the consumer can buy.

For you, it's gonna be pretty stressful doing all this and trying to get it running quickly?
[Laughs] Yes, but it's an interesting project, you know? It’s starting everything from scratch. And what I'm telling the team in the US is that we get to decide what is the strategy of the team. That has to be one unique strategy. But we can apply a lot of the concepts that they use in Europe into the North American market. So this is important to have this knowledge.

Well, that was my last thing to ask. A lot of companies do not operate that way. Right? They might manufacture the product in one country, but they use a distributor that knows that market in another. The world's gotten easier to work with now, you're probably on Zoom or Teams, whatever it is, but is that fairly unique in your experience that it's going to be run out of Europe in a way, and it's not a completely separate?
So, I think the good thing about this project is that right now we are being supported a lot by the headquarters in Spain. But the opportunity that we have and what we're thinking is that it's going to be a very independent subsidiary where we get to choose the strategy. We’ll be together with the headquarters, but we have to apply it into the North American mindset to the customer's needs. So, this part of that customer journey that we're trying to push into the market.

And where is that headquarters based? What town?
So the town is Granollers, which is right next to the Barcelona circuit where Formula 1 and MotoGP races.

Oh, wow.
As a matter of fact I hear that once in a while when the MotoGP and Formula 1 teams are practicing or doing tests, all the team in the office hears them practicing. So this is very, very exciting. If you have that passion in your blood, it's gonna be very exciting!