55 UK suppliers get £4bn in contracts to produce Jaguar XE at Solihull plant

Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull Manufacturing Plant today marked another significant milestone in its 70-year history as it welcomed the Jaguar brand to the site for the first time. The West Midlands-based plant marked the beginning of production of the all-new Jaguar XE with the official opening of its state-of-the-art £500 million (Rs 4,921 crore) ‘factory within a factory’.

The Solihull plant currently builds the Defender, Discovery, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Jaguar XE. It operates a 3-shift, 24-hour production schedule and has a 9,000 strong workforce.

The Jaguar XE, which represents the culmination of more than £2 billion (Rs 19,686 crore) of product, infrastructure and technology investment, has been heralded as vitally important for the British automotive supply chain thanks to an additional £4 billion (Rs 39,372 crore)  worth of contracts committed to 55 UK based Tier 1 suppliers. Together these suppliers, spread across the UK, have provided 55 percent of the components to this all-new model in the Jaguar line-up.

Jaguar Land Rover purchasing director, Ian Harnett, said of the impact of Jaguar’s latest model: “Jaguar Land Rover is one of the UK’s success stories, not simply because it has seen an upsurge in demand thanks to sustained investment, but because it has been able to support a burgeoning, high-tech, highly skilled supply base here in the UK. With each successive new or upgraded model, we are seeing the positive impact felt amongst the entire automotive sector which is great news for everyone committed to ensuring the UK remains truly competitive on a global stage.”

Amongst those suppliers who have felt the positive impact of Jaguar Land Rover’s continued investment in product creation is Rosti McKechnie, a Yorkshire-based plastics specialist awarded a £75 million (Rs 738 crore) contract for the Jaguar XE. The company has taken advantage of the opportunity by installing a host of new robotic machinery following an investment of £18 million from its new Swedish owners. Their workforce has doubled and is set to grow further in support of this contract award. In the Midlands, Rugby based Automotive Insulations, a company which manufactures thermal and acoustic insulation, has invested in a new 65,000 sq. ft. premises to accommodate its expanding workforce in preparation to supply the Jaguar XE. Birmingham-based Sertec Group has invested £15 million (Rs 147 crore) in new presses, robotics and site upgrades, primarily at their Tyseley plant. This in turn has led to the creation of 107 new jobs to work on this vehicle alone.

The opening of its new body shop and trim and final facilities – which represent the largest single investment in the Solihull plant in its 70 year history, was commemorated today by employees. Speaking at the official opening, Solihull operations director Alan Volkaerts said: “This really is an incredibly special day for Jaguar Land Rover and the team here at Solihull, many of whom have witnessed the plant change beyond all recognition in recent time. The arrival of the new Jaguar XE marks a new chapter in the history of this plant and showcases the flexibility of our manufacturing operation thanks to a strategic investment in aluminium technologies and infrastructure."

The start of XE production at the Solihull plant is the first step in making the site a dual-branded manufacturing operation. Earlier this year, the company confirmed its breakthrough Jaguar performance crossover, the F-Pace is to be built at the site.