A new manufacturing cluster has been established to take advantage of the rapidly growing electrification market.
Brandauer, C-MAC SMT and PP Control & Automation (PPC&A) – all members of the Manufacturing Assembly Network (MAN) – have come together to offer a supply chain solution for electric motors, drivetrain components, battery cells, casings and housings, transfer laminations, PCB assemblies and wider infrastructure services.
The trio has also enlisted the expertise of industrial automation specialist Balluff to drive the opportunity and this joined-up approach is already reaping dividends by helping it secure in excess of £3m of off-highway automotive contracts and an order for an upwind turbine system from FuturEnergy.
Richard Halton, business development manager at C-MAC SMT, a leading independent provider of complex, high reliability electronics and system assemblies, explained: “Electrification is a massive opportunity for our four businesses and we feel that by collaborating and pooling together our different, but complimentary disciplines, that we can offer the OEMs and end users access to a single source solution.
“While transport electrification is a natural marketplace and one that we are already picking up work in, there is a strong sense that we can also go after contracts to support the alternative energy sector and electric infrastructure work for street furniture and charging points for example.”
He continued: “Both of these markets are ramping up quickly and need partners who have a track record of delivering complex assemblies on time. This is exactly what we’re giving them with this cluster – experts in strategic manufacturing outsourcing, wiring looms, high volume pressings and laminations and electronic assembly.”
Daniel Walton, applications engineer at Northwich-based Balluff, added: “Our technology and solutions lend themselves directly to electric drivetrain, battery cells and modules and we already boast inclusion in a number of automotive OEM approval lists that will be a big plus for the group.”
The MAN Group, which employs more than 2,000 people across 21 different factories, is working closely with Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and is immersed in long-term collaborations with electrification to look at how it can aid the drive for increased supply chain capacity.
Brandauer CEO, Rowan Crozier, commented: “FuturEnergy is a perfect example of how we are prepared to invest in new equipment and significant R&D to deliver a solution, which in this case is a lamination that goes into an upwind turbine system designed for use in domestic homes and industrial applications.”
Garry Myatt, sales director at PP C&A, concluded: “Covid-19 has helped create a renewed desire to build UK resilient supply chains that can collaborate and deliver strategic manufacturing outsourcing, especially in growth markets such as electrification. Now is the perfect time for this joined-up thinking.”
