Alucast helps Norton Motorcycles blaze a trail for UK manufacturing
A BLACK Country foundry is helping the rebirth of one of Britain’s best known automotive brands.
Alucast, which is part of the unique MAN Group collaboration, has secured a contract to supply five engine parts to the current range of Norton motorcycles.
It is a deal worth more than £200,000 to the Wednesbury based firm and will help it build on a successful six months which has seen it win more than £1m of new business.
The foundry has used a range of aluminium alloys and design techniques to manufacture the rocker, sprocket, oil filter, left and right side engine covers.
The parts add to the appearance of the iconic motorcycles and also enhance performance.
Tony Sartorius, managing director at Alucast, said: “Norton is recognised the world over and we are delighted to be playing a small, but important part, in helping the new company re-establish the brand and ultimately build unique motorcycles that are in demand all over the globe.
“We were already supplying castings to the motorcycle industry, when a mutual contact arranged for us to meet with the people who had bought back Norton from the Americans in 2008. They were determined that the motorbike would be reborn and that the UK supply chain would account for over 85% of its parts.”
The foundry worked in partnership with designers at Norton to create the new parts.
“It’s been a challenging project and stretched us in terms of innovation, design, process refinements, and as a tier one (supplier), management of our downstream supply chain,” added Mr Sartorius.
Due to Norton’s exacting design requirements, the company chose two local suppliers which specialise in high-end metal polishing, where the finish is carefully applied to give the parts the unique appearance demanded by the client.
Simon Skinner, head of design at Norton Motorcycles, said: “When Stuart Garner bought the company off the Americans in 2008, all we were left with was a small facility and a half-made bike.
“We had to build a completely new supply chain and were adamant that every part, where possible, should be sourced from the UK. This was once a great British manufacturing brand and we were determined to restore it back to its former glory.
“Alucast were willing to work with us to develop the exact part and their technical knowledge of castings was key to a number of design improvements being made and for the end products being competitively priced.”
Norton, which is about to double its existing site in Donnington, currently produces around 1,000 motorcycles every year across its Commando range, which includes the 961 SE, Cafe Racers and Sport models.
It has been boosted by strong demand for its hand-made machines. The company is already reporting a 3,000-strong advance order book that will see it increase manufacturing to 1,500 by the end of 2011. If achieved, this is set to more than double the existing workforce of 35.
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