CAR parts manufacturer ElringKlinger (GB) has signed a deal to supply engine parts to BMW Mini, creating at least a dozen jobs and taking the value of its order book up to £30m.
The Redcar-based firm will become the only high volume producer of underbody heat shields in the UK when it starts working with the car making giant towards the end of next year.
The contract will lead to an investment of £2m into an embossing line, automated press and specialist gluing equipment machine on Teesside. It will also create 12 or more jobs at the plant and potentially produce up to two million units annually for clients including BMW, Lotus and Bentley.
Ian Malcolm, managing director of ElringKlinger (GB) Ltd, said: “Establishing the facility to engineer this product on such a scale has been in the pipeline for some time.
“We knew that ElringKlinger (GB) could offer a more cost-effective solution than having the parts sourced from outside the UK and we are delighted to now be part of the supply chain to BMW Mini.
“We have supplied underbody heat shields for almost a decade but now we will be engineering the product using an automated production line on a much larger scale, offering more speed and less cost.”
With a combustion engine like those in the BMW Mini range, the exhaust system from the engine to the tailpipe is the biggest producer of heat, after the engine itself. The underbody heat shields are embossed allowing more rigidity from a lighter gauge of steel and protect the sensitive parts and modules from heat, but also prevent local overheating of the car body.
Chris Mann, logistics quality specialist at BMW Group, said he was “becoming increasingly proud of the UK supplier base for the new Mini.”
ElringKlinger’s projects pipeline is topping £30m at present, all of which are high value businesses in highly specialised markets. Its workforce is one of the only ones of its kind in the UK developing heat shielding products for a modern market, a big growth area for the company.
Malcolm added: “ElringKlinger’s ability to deliver quality and secure such high supply of parts will enable BMW Mini to meet the growing demand from its customers worldwide.
“This agreement to supply under body heat shields for BMW Mini marks another important step forward. This is key to our growth strategy and the ongoing plans of the business and the new jobs created are a welcome boost on Teesside.”
Renowned for its speciality gaskets, ElringKlinger has set out plans to double its turnover to £26m in the next five years, after seeing demand for its heat shielding products soar.
