Auto components sector to benefit from £22m collaboration
THE automotive components business in the West Midlands has been given a major boost following the launch of a new £22m Government-supported manufacturing initiative.
Business Secretary Vince Cable has launched the Proving Factory as a collaborative project involving major companies and groups in the UK motor industry.
With an investment of £21.8m from the public and private sector, the new scheme will result in component manufacturing at Tata Steel’s Brinsworth site in Rotherham and a new assembly facility in the West Midlands, managed by Productiv.
The Proving Factory is a collaborative project to industrialise innovation and supply advanced components into the automotive supply chain. It is led by Productiv and Tata Steel and its partners include MIRA, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Jaguar Land Rover, Schaeffler, Unipart and the Midlands Assembly Network.
Mr Cable, speaking at the project’s launch, said: “Supply chains are the lifeblood of industry and vital in our drive for renewed economic growth, which is why Government has committed to supporting their development as part of our Industrial Strategy.
“The Proving Factory is a clear demonstration of how AMSCI (Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative) is bringing Government and businesses together to overcome barriers in efficiency and expansion, while creating a wealth of valuable new jobs in the increasingly competitive global marketplace.”
Richard Bruges, of The Proving Factory consortium, said the venture was unique to the UK and would help provide the automotive sector with a competitive advantage by exploiting the opportunities posed by the industrialisation, production and validation of low volume advanced powertrain components.
The project is led by micro SME Productiv, which industrialises green automotive technologies, bridging the gap between technology developers and vehicle manufacturers, and Tata Steel, which will develop materials and manufacture components. Its core partners are MIRA, assisting with design verification, and the Manufacturing Technology Centre at Ansty Park, which is assisting with design for manufacture and assembly.
The innovative automotive technologies and components that the project will industrialise prior to manufacture will come from six technology developers including: Bladon Jets, Flybrid, Torotrak, Drive Systems Design and Libralato.
The Proving Factory will ultimately manufacture low volume advanced technologies for vehicle manufacturers, with a target of 1,000 to 20,000 units per annum for each of 10 to 20 products.
The project has received funding and strategic support from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Automotive Council. It has received £12.8m in grant and loan funding from the AMSCI which has been matched with £9.1m of private funding.
It is envisaged that The Proving Factory will create over 250 direct new jobs in assisted areas, where new employment is greatly needed, and around 1,000 more in the manufacturing and engineering supply chain.
As well as job creation, products supplied by the venture will help to reduce the UK’s trade deficit for automotive components, which stands at around £7bn.
The project will also create new intellectual property in the UK, strengthening both its knowledge and manufacturing base.
