Sector Focus
Manufacturing Castle Bromwich tour:
Visit to the Jaguar’s den
By Sue Cooke
The automotive industry is a vital part of the UK economy, accounting for more than £71.6 billion turnover. And car manufacturers are worried! 57.1% of respondents to a survey conducted by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) believe that the outcome of the EU referendum will have a negative impact on their business. In the survey conducted in mid- July this year, just 8.3% see our exit as a positive one. And the concern arises because the UK automotive
sector is export-led, with 77.8% of cars built in the UK destined for more than 100 overseas markets. The sector is part of a complex, highly-integrated European and global supply chain and depends on significant cross border trade in components. While local supply content of UK-built cars is growing, 59% of vehicle components are imported, predominantly from the continent. In July, SMMT said
that production was growing, showing the highest level for the month since 1998, when volumes reached 172,232. And one of the companies which is showing rapid growth is Jaguar Land Rover.
I had the opportunity to visit the company’s Castle
Bromwich plant this month where sporty F type owners can tour the site and be the first to drive their new car off the track. In fact, anyone interested in having a look around the manufacturing facility can do so for £49. It’s a journey of discovery where body panels are
formed in the Press Shop and man and machine work in sync in Body in White. It’s a very different place to where the first Spitfire aeroplanes were built in 1938 and where my uncle took me in the 1960s to look around sheet metal manufacturer Fisher and Ludlow, which turned the plant over to manufacturing car body panels. Nowadays there are probably fewer humans on site.
Joining the operators are Kawasaki ZX robots; they sit obediently beside the line waiting their turn to perform a range of tasks, including riveting, assembly, manipulation and adhesive dispensing. And they are absolutely riveting to watch as they grab lightweight aluminium architecture and whirl them on high to receive hundreds of metres of orange goo. Well if it sticks aeroplanes together it can also create the sleek aerodynamic form of an F type! Aluminum is lighter than steel and
weight saving is crucial to improve fuel consumption and emissions. JLR researchers are moving beyond
‘Every car on the production line has an owner and every owner will have stipulated left or right hand drive’
Start of the journey: a car begins life on the XF production line
56 CHAMBERLINK September 2016
Ready for the showroom: a car at the end of the production line
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