A.B.S. All Brake Systems: Dutch specialist in brakes, steering and suspension

History

A.B.S. All Brake Systems was founded in 1978 by Frans Snijders, who started the business together with his brother-in-law Peter Lit. The company's first warehouse was an old barn in Nijkerk, in the Dutch province of Gelderland, where the founders began selling brake parts for French-built cars — Renault, Citroën and Peugeot — to the local aftermarket. From this modest start, A.B.S. grew over more than four decades into one of the better-known independent brake-parts brands in the European aftermarket, while remaining a family-owned and family-run business.

Today the company is headquartered in IJsselstein, in the Utrecht region of the Netherlands, with additional warehouse and distribution capacity in nearby Nieuwegein and in Szczecin, Poland, supporting its distribution network across Europe.

What they make

A.B.S.'s core business is still brakes: discs, pads, calipers, drums, brake shoes, cables, hydraulic components, hoses, splash panels and ready-to-fit accessory kits. Over time the range was extended into two adjacent product groups — steering and suspension parts (control arms, tie rods, ball joints, stabilizer links, engine and gearbox mountings, and complete suspension kits) and wheel-bearing kits, including wheel hubs and ABS sensors. According to the company, its current catalogue covers roughly 36,000–39,000 individual part numbers, which it states covers about 99.7% of the vehicle parc on European roads.

Where they fit — OE vs aftermarket

A.B.S. is not a first-tier original-equipment supplier to car manufacturers; it is an aftermarket brand that designs and sources replacement parts to fit a very wide range of vehicle models, sold through wholesalers and workshops rather than through dealer networks. For a buyer, that means A.B.S. parts are generally positioned as a mid-market alternative to OE-branded components — intended to match original fit, form and function at a lower price point, rather than to be a budget or economy line. Because the company's business is concentrated in braking and chassis safety components, it's worth checking that any part is sold with the relevant homologation/quality marks (e.g. ECE R90 for brake pads and discs, where applicable) and matching it carefully against the vehicle's VIN or original part number before ordering, as with any aftermarket brake or suspension component.