Pictured above: (l-r) Tony Sartorius, Tom Bruce (Alucast) and Simon Skinner (Norton Motorcycles)

An award winning foundry in the West Midlands is helping the rebirth of one of Britain's best known brands gather pace.

Alucast Limited, which is part of the unique MAN Group collaboration, has secured the contract to supply five engine parts to the current range of Norton Motorcycles (UK).

The company has used a range of aluminium alloys and design techniques to manufacture the rocker, sprocket, oil filter, left and right side engine covers, so that it contributes to not only the iconic appearance of the motorbike but also enhances its everyday driving performance.

It is a deal worth more than £200,000 to the Wednesbury-based firm and will help it build on a successful six months that has seen it win more than £1m of new business.

Tony Sartorius, Managing Director at Alucast, believes the contract is a real boost for British manufacturing.

"Norton is recognised the world over and we are delighted to be playing a small, but important part, in helping the new company re-establish the brand and ultimately build unique motorcycles that are in demand all over the globe.

"We were already supplying castings to the motorcycle industry, when a mutual contact arranged for us to meet with the people who had bought back Norton from the Americans in 2008. They were determined that the motorbike would be reborn and that the UK supply chain would account for over 85% of its parts."

He continued: "This was a big opportunity to get involved with this exciting project and we've spent a lot of time and investment in working with their design engineers to get the look and performance of the parts in keeping with the overall feel of the bike.

"It's been a challenging project and stretched us in terms of innovation, design, process refinements, and as a tier one, management of our downstream supply chain."

All of the parts are manufactured in Alucast's gravity casting foundry before being finish machined at the company's in-house facility in the heart of the Black Country. 

Due to Norton's exacting design requirements, the company chose two local suppliers who specialise in high-end metal polishing, where the finish is carefully applied to give them the unique appearance demanded by the client. 

Simon Skinner, Head of Design at Norton Motorcycles, picked up the story:

"When Stuart Garner bought the company off the Americans in 2008, all we were left with was a small facility and a half-made bike in the corner. I joined in February 2009 as the first employee and we immediately set about re-engineering the bike and getting the brand back into the marketplace.

"We had to build a completely new supply chain and were adamant that every part, where possible, should be sourced from the UK. This was once a great British manufacturing brand and we were determined to restore it back to its former glory."

He went on to add: "Alucast were willing to work with us to develop the exact part and their technical knowledge of castings was key to a number of design improvements being made and for the end products being competitively priced.

"I also like the fact that if there is an issue we can be at each other's site in just over a hour, which, as a small company is great. We can't afford to lose people for days on end while they travel the world sorting out problems."

Norton, which is about to double its existing site in Donnington, currently produce around 1000 motorcycles every year across its Commando range, which includes the 961 SE, Cafe Racers and Sport models.

The clamour for the hand-made motorbikes is huge and the company is already reporting a 3000-strong advance order book that will see them increase manufacturing to 1500 by the end of 2011. If achieved, this is set to more than double the existing workforce of 35.

Having gained full European type approval, Norton should also secure full vehicle type approval in America this year, which will significantly open up the worldwide market.

Tony concluded: "With over 85% of the motorbike made in the UK, it is great news for British manufacturing that Norton is back and building world class motorcycles.

"There is no doubt that the engineers at Norton are in the process of expanding their model range and I envisage further opportunities for us to cast additional products and maybe bring in other members of the MAN Group to play their part."

Alucast is one of nine Midlands-based manufacturers that form the MAN Group, which offer technical excellence in every aspect of mechanical, electrical and electronic engineering processes.

The collective boasts a combined turnover of £70m and employs in excess of 600 people across the member firms, including Advanced Chemical Etching, Barkley Plastics, Brandauer, FW Cables, PP Electrical Systems, SMT Developments, Westley Engineering and Wrekin Circuits.