Sunderland's strong automotive industry will grow even more as a result of new investment from French car parts manufacturer, SNOP.
Automotive supplier SNOP has announced it is investing £15m in a new factory in Sunderland’s International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP).
The move, which is expected to create at least 100 new jobs, will be situated close to the town’s Nissan manufacturing plant. Work on the plant has already started and is expected to be completed in the spring.
The state-of-the-art factory will cover 17 acres of the first phase of the IAMP. The firm hope to then expand their factory size to 331,000 sqft. The process will relocate from its existing premises nearby, taking on more people and increasing its floorspace.
David Brander, SNOP UK’s plant director said the north east is an ideal place to locate a car parts manufacturer: “Sunderland and South Tyneside have much to offer to manufacturing businesses like ours. “We know that we can enjoy direct access to a fantastic talent pool, as well as benefiting from the other excellent assets this site offers, including outstanding connectivity to road, sea, air and rail links.”
SNOP is predicting that this increased capacity will see annual turnover rise from €54m to €90m. It also hopes to employ an extra 100 – 150 people on top of its existing 250-strong staff.
Investment isn’t just limited to the new building, with new machinery also in the works. SNOP is collaborating on the construction project with Silverstone Building Consultancy the building expected to fully handed-over in May 2019.
IAMP One covers 150 acres and will deliver 1.6m sqft of advanced manufacturing and industrial space. The second phase will provide an additional 2.6 million sqft.
SNOP is a French company that makes components for major automotive firms, including: Peugeot, Renault, Audi, Volkswagen, and Nissan, among several other key clients.
The automotive industry in Sunderland has shown strong growth in recent years. Last year, Nissan UK recorded a record £6.4bn in turnover. Revenue was up 22% on the previous year, and was largely down to increasing its manufacturing output to more than 500,000 cars.
Reporting by Harry Wise