SUBCONTRACTING INCREASING EMOBILITY/ELECTRIFICATION ACTIVITY
the electronics. The rm’s new technology
centre manager, Gavin Shipley, will oversee
the project with Char.gy as he has worked
with the company on the design and
development of the project in a previous role.
New jobs will be created to support the
manufacture and assembly of the products.
Die-cast tooling, machining xtures and test
equipment have also been designed and
manufactured as part of the process.
Anthony Evans, managing director of
Sarginsons Industries, said the work with
Char.gy was part of the rm’s future plans to
develop its offer in design for manufacture
excellence. (And in July came news of further
progress on the project with the rst of a new
phase of Char.gy charging points for electric
vehicles installed in Coventry.)
ELECTRIFICATION BONANZA SIGHTED
The following month, February, saw the
Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN)
reveal its hopes for electri cation business,
saying it had set its sights on taking a share
of the expected £300 billion spend on vehicle
electri cation.
MAN, a collective of eight subcontract
manufacturers and a specialist design
agency, was already supplying components to
10 projects focused on battery development
and electric motors, and said it was expecting
this gure to more than double over the next
12 months in a £15 million sales drive.
Said Rowan Crozier, CEO of member
company Brandauer and chairman of MAN:
“I can’t remember the last time all members
of our group have been so excited about the
potential opportunities presented by just one
sector… spend on automotive electri cation
is going through the roof and legislation is
driving it.
“A single electric car can contain anything
between 70 and 150 electric motors, which
makes it a very exciting opportunity for parts
manufacturers. We are already supplying a
number of rms with electrical steel
laminations.
“You also need forgings, that could be the
shaft, and that’s where MAN member
KimberMills International comes in, whilst
Alucast another member could develop the
castings for the motor casing.
“Better still, we have Grove Design and its
eight-strong team of designers who can
overcome production issues and develop
prototype parts quickly. It’s a single-source
solution and one we believe could generate in
excess of £15 million of additional orders by
the end of 2019.”
Then, in August, came news that the MAN
collective had spawned the creation of a
separate and more tightly focused
electri cation cluster, established to target
more than £10 million of electri cation
opportunities over the next 12 months, not
just in the auto sector.
Brandauer, C-MAC SMT and PP Control &
Automation – all members MAN – had come
together to offer a single-source supply chain
solution for electric motors, drivetrain
components, battery cells, casings and
housings, transfer laminations, PCB
assemblies and wider infrastructure services,
with industrial automation specialist Balluff
also joining the group. This collective said it
had secured in excess of £3 million of
off-highway automotive contracts and an
order for an upwind turbine system from
British company FuturEnergy.
“Electri cation is a massive opportunity for
our four businesses and we feel that by
collaborating and pooling together our
different but complementary disciplines that
we can offer the OEMs and end users access
to a single-source solution,” explained
Richard Halton, business development
manager at C-MAC SMT.
“Whilst transport electri cation is a natural
marketplace and one that we are already
picking up work in, there is a strong sense
that we can also go after contracts to support
the alternative energy sector and electric
infrastructure work for street furniture and
charging points, for example.
“Both of these markets are ramping up
quickly and need partners who have a track
record of delivering complex assemblies on
time. This is exactly what we’re giving them
with this cluster – experts in strategic
manufacturing outsourcing, wiring looms, high
volume pressings and laminations and
electronic assembly, plus Balluff’s worldleading
sensors, vision inspection systems
and RFID/IO-Link knowledge.”
September saw Alucast reveal how a
£2.5 million investment is paying off, with
both casting simulation and machining
playing a pivotal role in the development and
production of a range of complex casings
and housings for high pro le car makers
across Europe.
The management team at the Black
Country manufacturer is expecting volumes
destined for electric powertrain/vehicles to
account for 25% of its turnover going forward
into the future, now that it is part of the
electri cation cluster.
In October came more news from
Brandauer, with the company saying it had
Alucast has made signifi cant
investments to ensure its place in the
growing electrifi cation market
www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets | December 2020 21
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