Company targets Yorkshire city for carbon fibre wheel production line

Dymag, the company behind state-of-the-art wheels used on some of the world’s top performing vehicles, is targeting Sheffield for the location for a production facility as it embarks on an ambitious growth programme.

Dymag Group, which has its HQ in Wiltshire, designs and manufactures lightweight carbon composite hybrid and full carbon wheels for cars and motorcycles.

It is considering a number of sites in and around Sheffield as it plans to scale up production to offer its technology to other automotive businesses.

The wheels it makes are tough but lightweight, creating a significant carbon footprint advantage in terms of fuel economy and, in the case of electric vehicles, in range per full charge.

Dymag wants to increase its production capacity with the aim of driving down costs as it strikes agreements with tier one automotive suppliers, which specialise in wheels and structural composite components for the automotive, industrial and aerospace sectors.

The resulting agreements will see this technology applied to wheels on mid-market cars and other vehicles in the passenger vehicle market.

The company supplies both complete wheels and carbon barrels (rims) as sub-components to third party aftermarket companies in the UK, Europe, USA and Japan. Its clients include a global supercar brand, which is supplied on an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) basis. Other OEM deals are in the pipeline.

Dymag’s aftermarket wheels are fitted to vehicle brands including Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, Lamborghini and JLR’s Jaguar F-Type.

The firm’s technology has a full UK patent for its design, which strengthens the wheel rim using different materials constructed to deliver a complete wheel that is lighter, stronger and faster than conventional designs.

Chris Shelley, CEO of Dymag, said: “The technology is now starting to move into mainstream vehicle production having been developed and proved in advanced super-car applications.

“At present, wheels are produced in relatively small run numbers of hundreds per month. We’re ready to deliver on a plan to scale up production to thousands per month. The planned increased capacity will also drive prices down rapidly, bringing them towards economic viability for all passenger vehicles.

“Sheffield is a leading contender among a shortlist of potentially suitable locations across the UK. It’s a very attractive proposition as a result of its growing advanced manufacturing cluster and the investment the city is putting into attracting new industry. We’re currently considering a number of sites, which would be suitable for a new production facility.

“International competition is modest but also gearing up for a ‘transformation’ in wheel technology. An Australian firm has recently raised US$50m on sales expectations in this important niche sector of the future automotive supply chain market.

“We have been talking to a number of interested investors and have scaled up our plans to meet their ambitions and the opportunities we see in the future market.”

Shelley added that Dymag plans to raise an additional £5m of growth capital in the next year, resulting in a new production line ultimately capable of delivering 50,000 wheels per year.