£50m supercar production facility drives into first gear

McLaren Automotive’s new £50m production facility has opened in Sheffield, which will bring 200 jobs to the region once at full capacity in 2020.

The supercar manufacturer yesterday welcomed TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain, to officially open the 7,000 sq m centre on the Advanced Manufacturing Park. A total of 50 people are currently employed at the site and this will be scaled up as production scales up.

The McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) aims to be a world-leader in innovating lightweight carbon fibre and composites that will work together with future powertrain development to save weight and produce greater energy efficiencies. The target is that the MCTC will deliver £100m of gross value-added benefit to the local economy by 2028, as well as supporting skills development in the region.

At the opening yesterday, Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive of McLaren Automotive told TheBusinessDesk.com that the firm wanted to look outside of its Woking facility to expand the business and that the Sheffield City Region offered huge potential. He said: “In terms of getting the right talent and the right people, we looked very closely at where to open our facility. This region has a very strong background in manufacturing and engineering and it was that background that attracted us; we can employ great people here.”

Flewitt added that the close working relationship with Sheffield University, which has its Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre on the site, was also important. “The support we have got from the region and the councils has been great and it is great to see all of that work come together today,” he added.

Prototyping has already begun on innovating McLaren’s next generation of lightweight carbon fibre tubs that are integral to the agility and performance of its sportscars and supercars. Currently, the tubs which will be made on the four production lines to be at the Sheffield site are made in and imported from Austria. The in-sourcing of the manufacture of the carbon fibre chassis also increases the average percentage (by value) of a McLaren car sourced in the UK by around eight% from its current average of around 50%, depending on model.

Around 60 engineers will be employed at the site and during next year, the focus will be on producing carbon fibre tubs that will be sent to the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, for hand assembly into cars; over 90% of which are then exported to markets worldwide.

First announced in February 2017, construction commenced on the MCTC just five months later and following six months of fit-out, it is now the company’s first purpose-built facility outside of the current McLaren campus in Surrey.

Also announced at yesterday’s McLaren event was the start date on the building work for the new home of the McLaren showroom in Leeds. Currently housed in a temporary structure on Gateway 45, the showroom has been operating for six months and has already sold 20 cars from the site. This has created further jobs for the Yorkshire region and is one of 86 retailers across 31 worldwide markets selling the three tiers of suupercars produced by McLaren.

McLaren said its ability to tap into the Sheffield region’s extensive materials expertise, skills, university resources, and dynamism will help it to continue to innovate quickly and launch 18 new models or derivatives under its ambitious Track25 business plan that are lightest in class.

Carbon fibre has long been a part of McLaren’s DNA, the company having introduced the very first carbon fibre chassis into Formula 1 in 1981. Carbon fibre’s innate strength and lightweight properties mean that the company has never made a race car, sportscar or supercar without it since.

After seeing an example of a completed carbon tub, Mike Flewitt, McLaren shareholders and senior members of the company’s executive toured the Royal guests around the facility.

The Royal guests saw the process for producing carbon fibre tubs – currently in pre-production phase – from the cutting of the carbon fibre cloth, to the forming, pressing, machining and measuring of the final tub. Along the way they were invited to press the button to start the cutting machine, speak to some of the 50 or so people already employed at the site while McLaren Automotive Executive Director of HR, Mandeep Dhatt introduced several of McLaren’s STEM ambassadors who work at the MCTC. Supported by the company, they speak to young people in the region to encourage them to take up careers in science and engineering.

The MCTC was largely designed, constructed and fitted out by local contractors with the support of Sheffield City Council.

Flewitt added: “It was an honour for myself and all of the 2,300 people at McLaren Automotive to host The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of The Kingdom of Bahrain, to officially open the MCTC and to show them the process we are innovating for the production of carbon fibre. They met some of the extraordinary, creative and passionate people we already have working here who are making that ambition a reality.

“It is an important milestone for us as a ground-breaking, innovative car company and allows us to tap into the great energy, vitality and skills this part of the world has to offer. What goes on here at the MCTC will be vital for our ability to make good on our intention to continue to develop and unveil cars that are lightest in class; it is my belief that Britain – through facilities like this – can become a world leader in lightweight materials technology that will help create more efficient future vehicles.

“We are proud to be bringing new jobs to the Sheffield region which has a long association with advanced materials; first with steel and now a future to look forward to with carbon fibre innovation and production for McLaren.”

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