McLaren Automotive opens £50m lightweight materials production facility in Sheffield
A new, £50m production facility for lightweight materials for the automotive industry has opened in Sheffield, UK.
The McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) aims to be a world-leader in innovating lightweight carbon fibre and composites that will work together with future powertrain development to save weight and produce greater energy efficiencies.
Prototyping has already begun on innovating McLaren’s next generation of lightweight carbon fibre tubs that are integral to the agility and performance of its sports cars and supercars.
The MCTC was officially opened by TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain, with the unveiling of a carbon fibre plaque.
First Purpose-built Facility
First announced in February 2017, the MCTC is now the company’s first purpose-built facility outside of the current McLaren campus in Surrey.
The decision to build in Sheffield was based on McLaren identifying the opportunity to tap into the Sheffield region’s extensive materials expertise, skills and university resources.
The car manufacturer says these attributes will help it to “continue to innovate quickly” and launch 18 new models or derivatives under its ambitious Track25 business plan that are “lightest in class”.
UK Sourcing
The in-sourcing by the manufacture of the carbon fibre chassis also increases the average percentage (by value) of a McLaren car sourced in the UK by around eight per cent from its current average of around 50 percent, depending on model.
McLaren says its commitment to carbon fibre is “part of its DNA”, having in 1981 been the first automaker to introduce a carbon fibre chassis into a Formula 1 car. The company has never made a race car, sports car or supercar without it since.
Carbon Fibre Tubs
The Royal guests saw the process for producing carbon fibre tubs - currently in pre-production phase – from the cutting of the carbon fibre cloth, to the forming, pressing, machining and measuring of the final tub.
After completing trial tubs in 2019 and once fully operational in 2020, the MCTC will create over 200 direct jobs and produce carbon fibre tubs that will be sent to the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, for hand assembly into cars, over 90 per cent of which are then exported to markets worldwide.
The target is that the MCTC will deliver £100m of gross value-added benefit to the local economy by 2028 as well as supporting skills development in the region.
"Important Milestone"
Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Automotive, said the official opening represented an “important milestone” for the company and offered an opportunity to showcase the “great energy, vitality and skills” of the region to the royal guests.
“What goes on here at the MCTC will be vital for our ability to make good on our intention to continue to develop and unveil cars that are lightest in class; it is my belief that Britain –through facilities like this - can become a world leader in lightweight materials technology that will help create more efficient future vehicles,” Flewitt explained.
“We are proud to be bringing new jobs to the Sheffield region which has a long association with advanced materials; first with steel and now a future to look forward to with carbon fibre innovation and production for McLaren.”