McLaren handed keys to new £50m factory in South Yorkshire

The keys to the building that will house the company’s Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) have reportedly been handed over to McLaren Automotive ahead of final fitting out.

According to McLaren, the MCTC will be the facility where McLaren will make ultra-lightweight and strong carbon fibre tubs that are at the heart of all of its luxury family of sportscars and supercars.

Finished tubs will then be sent to the McLaren Production Centre in Surrey where the company’s vehicles have been hand-assembled since 2011.

Around 45 McLaren employees are already based at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). When fully operational, the team will grow to around 200 people.

McLaren Automotive has committed to spending the next two decades at the AMP after agreeing a deal with land regeneration and property investment specialist, and Waverley masterplanner, Harworth Group.

Ruth Nic Aoidh, McLaren’s executive director, commercial and legal, received the ‘key’ to the building from Owen Michaelson, chief executive of Harworth Group, the listed firm which built the unit for McLaren’s use.

On display were the company’s current family of products including members of the Sports Series and Super Series as well as a rare appearance by the McLaren Senna, all 500 units of which have been allocated to customers.

Stakeholders associated with the build including Sheffield City Region, Sheffield City Council, Rotherham Borough Council, contractors JF Finnegan and architects The Harris Partnership also attended the ceremony to hand over the keys.

Reportedly, the building will now undergo several months of fitting out which will see all the manufacturing equipment installed, including a giant press that will make its way from Germany this summer.

Aoidh said: “Getting the key to the building that will house the McLaren Composites Technology Centre is a major milestone for us and the next chapter in our growth as a young, ambitious, innovative company.

“It’s also an important day for all of the many individuals, organisations and suppliers who have supported and shared our ambitious plan to make the Sheffield region home to McLaren’s second production facility.

“This project is also testament to their shared mindset and the region’s long association with advanced materials that we are able to draw on and benefit from.

“Over the coming months the centre will be fitted out with the production equipment we need to become fully operational next year and support hundreds of skilled jobs.”