A composite door design and innovative high volume automotive parts made in the West Midlands will be unveiled at a major international show in Paris.
Penso has operations in Coventry, London and Pune (India) and employs 230 people across those three sites.
The firm will showcase two advancements it has made for the rail and automotive sectors at JEC World 2016 in Paris from March 8 – 10.
The new door, which Penso has designed, reportedly offers a weight reduction of up to 30% when compared to the current aluminium models being used.
Marketing and sales director at the firm, Michael Collins, revealed the company is in talks with train manufacturers and expects more interest following their appearance at the show.
“A lot of firms have been looking at R&D into this area, but very few – if indeed any – have gone to the next level and actually invested in technology and the experts needed to produce a lightweight rail door out of composite material.”
He continued: “We designed our own tooling and press formed the door at our dedicated composite facility in Coventry. They have been tested by a number of third party experts and come out as being robust and offering up to 30% weight savings.
“This is a major attraction for the train operators and manufacturers and we are currently targeting a number of companies in Europe with view to achieving millions of Euros in new orders by 2017.”
Due to the company’s growth in composites, it has invested £7m in developing its existing building and installing a new advanced high volume. The firm has also created a new plant for lightweight structures and new machining centres for rapid tooling.
A further £2m has been spent on new plant and capital equipment to aid with the manufacture of machine tools and studios.
Michael continued: “This is the second time we’ve exhibited at JEC and believe it underlines our commitment to the effective production of lightweight components.
“In addition to the train door, we will also be displaying some of the work we have carried out as part of the £16.8m VARCITY programme to create affordable carbon fibre body architecture.”
He went on to add: “The consortium partners include Jaguar Land Rover, Cytec/Solvay, Expert Tooling, Warwick Manufacturing Group, the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Sika and Avdel Fasteners.
“Together, we have researched and developed new composite solutions to aid with industry’s drive to reduce C02 and Nitrogen Oxide emissions.”
