Auto firms set for billion-pound bonanza from JLR’s new car launch
AUTOMOTIVE suppliers throughout the West Midlands are set to capitalise on the launch of Jaguar Land Rover’s latest product, the Jaguar XE executive saloon.
The car’s new production facilities have been installed at Solihull’s Lode Lane plant and a ceremony yesterday (Monday) represented the culmination of more than £2bn of product, infrastructure and technology investment.
The company said the new car – which marks its return to large volume production – was a particularly significant one for the British automotive supply chain, which is strongly represented in the West Midlands.
To support the new car, an additional £4bn worth of contracts have been committed to 55 UK-based suppliers. Together these suppliers have provided 55% of the components for the new car – one of the highest proportions in the UK market.
Representatives from two of the suppliers – Rugby-based Automotive Insulations and Birmingham’s Sertec – were present at yesterday’s launch to see how their components figure in the production of the new car.
Automotive Insulations has been awarded a £10m contract for the new car. The company manufactures thermal and acoustic insulation for vehicles, and had to invest in a new 65,000 sq ft factory in 2014 to accommodate its expanding workforce in preparation for the new supply contract. The company now employs over 200 people at the new headquarters, up from just 69 in 2013.
Sertec supplies a range of steel and aluminium manipulation and assembly processes. The company has a long standing relationship with JLR and has been commissioned to supply a total of 202 new parts for the Jaguar XE.
To support the introduction of the XE, Sertec has invested £15m in new presses, robotics and site upgrades, primarily at its Tyseley plant. The company has created 107 new jobs just to work on the XE; this is on top of the 400 new workers employed by the firm to work on its wider JLR programmes.
Turnover for this plant has increased from £17m to £70m in just four years, such has been JLR’s growth.
Grant Adams, Sertec’s managing director, said: “Seeing these cars here today just fills me with pride and it reminds me how much we have done and much we have contributed to the XE programme.
“I’m grateful to Jaguar Land Rover for everything it has done to help Sertec and to support its growth.
“We have now got to look at that growth again and to examine the latest phase of our expansion and how we are to achieve that.”
Ian Harnett, Jaguar Land Rover’s Purchasing Director, said of the impact of Jaguar’s latest model: “Jaguar Land Rover is one of the UK’s success stories, not simply because it has seen an upsurge in demand thanks to sustained investment, but because it has been able to support a burgeoning, high-tech, highly skilled supply base here in the UK.
“With each successive new or upgraded model, we are seeing the positive impact felt amongst the entire automotive sector which is great news for everyone committed to ensuring the UK remains truly competitive on a global stage.”
