JLR supplier creates jobs following £10m factory upgrade

More than 30 new jobs have been created at a Coventry automotive supplier following a £10m investment into one of its two factories in the city.

Brose UK, which supplies mechatronic systems for vehicle doors and seats as well as electric motors, drives and electronics, employs nearly 1,000 people across its twin plants. It is a major supplier to Jaguar Land Rover.

It has signed off the installation of a new e-coat line at its paint shop in a move that provides the manufacturer with the capacity to paint more than 3.5 million seat structures every year for its customers.

Steve Bartholomew, Technical Director at Brose UK, said: “We have grown significantly over the last five years and have now reached a position where an in-house paint plant improves competitiveness.

“The e-coat line is one of the most advanced in the automotive sector and will immediately improve scheduling of production and ensure all structures are finished to the highest quality standards accepted by all of the major car manufacturers in the world.

“In short, we are now in control of our own destiny and we have cut the paint coating time from three days to just eight hours. The difference this makes to assembly will be huge in Coventry.”

Structures for four different Jaguar Land Rover models are the first to go through the new paint plant and it is anticipated that more than 2 million seat structures will be coated within twelve months of operation.

From loading to unloading, a rack of parts is painted in about two hours compared to 10-12 hours when sending to external painters.

“This is a massive show of faith and confirms the group’s intention of giving us the technology and capability we need to take on and successfully deliver higher volumes for our local customers,” said Juergen Zahl, managing director of Brose UK.

“Brose is committed to growing our UK operation. Coventry was our first non-German site and, operationally, is now performing at a level which secured us Cranfield University’s Best Factory Award in 2016.”

Over the last 12 months, Brose UK sales have increased by 23% and this has included new contracts to supply seats and window regulators to customers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Toyota.

Pictured at the paint plant are, from left: Anthony Lythe, Katarzyna Witkowska, Thomas Meusel and Guenter Storath.