Sunderland brokers new Nissan deal

Manufacturing News, Source : TheManufacturer.com
Published : 14 May 2007 15:12

A deal that will enable Nissan to build a new logistics facility and will also create the potential for 4000 new jobs in the North East was announced today.

Sunderland City Council said it was working with property developer Wilton and Clugston and One NorthEast to bring another 4000 jobs to the city.

The Council has brokered a deal which will enable Nissan to go ahead with a £4.5 million expansion of its Sunderland car plant and Wilton and Clugston to build a new business park on part of Nissan's Washington site.

The disposal of land by Nissan - which has been renowned as Europe's most productive car plant for the last eight years - will enable the company to develop a new logistics centre at its Sunderland site enabling it to maintain its competitive edge and safeguarding future investment at the plant.

The 20,000 sq m logistics centre will process thousands of parts each year from around the world, making Nissan's logistics operation more efficient, improving cost and reducing CO2 emissions.

The new centre is being funded by the sale and development of land at the Nissan plant.

The deal will see the development of a prestigious 690,000 sq ft business park creating more than 4000 new jobs by developers Wilton and Clugston, complete with office space, light industrial units, a hotel and car showroom.

Sunderland City Council leader Bob Symonds said the Council had supported Nissan from day one and the latest deal, was an example of the its business friendly approach.

"Nissan contributes almost £500 million to the local economy each year, while the company and its component suppliers provide over 15,000 jobs in Sunderland and the surrounding area so this is a welcome enhancement of its business,” he said.

"We hope that Nissan will continue to thrive and we're also delighted to be welcoming Wilton and Clugston to the city as a joint developer."

Trevor Mann, Nissan’s senior vice president - manufacturing, Europe, said: "The new centre will handle inbound parts for the Sunderland plant. Increasingly, these are coming from further afield, in bulk volume. By bulk sourcing parts we are making significant total cost savings, which helps our plant to improve its competitiveness. This in turn puts us in a stronger position when bidding for future models."

Construction work on Nissan's new logistics centre will begin later this month. The primary role of the new facility will be to receive, store and prepare for the delivery of in-bound car parts, before they delivered to the production line. The centre is scheduled to be fully operational by February 2008.

A third party logistics provider will staff the facility by operating two shifts. Around 55 employees per shift will be needed to run the centre, creating approximately 15 new posts.

In the future Nissan will make increasing use of the Port of Tyne deep water facility to ship parts in large volume from around the world. Once operational, the centre will reduce the number of truck deliveries to the Nissan Sunderland site by 11,000 per year, with a significant decrease both in CO2 emissions and congestion around the plant.

Trevor Mann added: "The centre is good news for Nissan and good news for our suppliers. Not only does it create some new jobs, it goes some way towards safeguarding around 1000 posts at our plant by making us more cost competitive at a time the global car industry is becoming increasingly fierce.

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