Pictured: (l-r) Gary Seale (Cobra UK) and Roy Pulley
(MAS-WM)
An innovative automotive supplier is on the look-out for 50 new
staff after it secured orders worth more than £20m for its
new low mass load floor.
Cobra UK has tapped into support from the Manufacturing Advisory
Service - West Midlands (MAS-WM) to develop the new product, which
reduces the weight of the vehicle and offers greater fuel
performance and reduced emissions.
General Motors and hybrid car maker Fiskar are the first vehicle
manufacturers to place orders with the Whitchurch firm, with more
expected to follow when production is ramped up in September.
It marks a major period of expansion that has seen the company
grow from just £300,000 after the MG Rover closure to an
estimated £17.4m in sales for the next financial year.
"This is a massive victory for UK innovation and shows what can
be achieved if you invest in R&D and have conviction in your
ideas," explained Gary Seale, Managing Director of Cobra UK.
"It has taken nearly three years to develop and bring to market,
but we are now in a position where we have a product that offers
significant cost and performance benefits that many global
customers are crying out for."
He continued: "MAS-WM's New Product Development team has been a
major help, providing financial and strategic advice throughout the
entire process, from early ideas and one-on-one mentoring to
prototyping and support with testing and validation.
"There is little doubt in my mind that this external assistance
has been the difference between turning the vision into commercial
reality."
Cobra, which currently employs 72 people at bases in Whitchurch
and a new facility in Welshpool, specialise in providing solutions
to the automotive industry, with its product range including
electric sun blinds, interior lighting, tread plates and load space
covers.
Using 'car industry' knowledge and innovation, the firm has
recently diversified into manufacturing stadium seating for
Birmingham City, Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion and
Wolverhampton Wanderers, a foray that prompted a second New
Product Development project with MAS-WM.
"We're currently in the advanced stages of testing new airline
seats that again utilise low mass technology," continued Gary.
"By combining engineering grade polymer with a unique metal
coating, we are able to produce a trio of seats that weigh just
21kg, half the total of current seating solutions. We've also used
our design skills to create more legroom for passengers."
Following comprehensive testing, Cobra believes this new
technology can save up to £850,000 on fuel costs on a low
cost carrier aircraft and nearly 1500 tonnes of carbon emissions.
These impressive statistics will be reinforced in September when a
major carrier trials six of the seats on one of its aircraft.
Roy Pulley, NPD Project Manager, added his support: "Only a
small percentage of innovative ideas actually make it to
commercialisation stage and that is exactly what my team are trying
to overcome.
"We've worked with Cobra since 2006; initially on the load floor
and more recently on the next generation of aircraft seats. These
are world class innovations and one is already reaping dividends
with a £multi-million order and the creation of 50 new jobs
on the shopfloor, technical staff and process engineers."
The New Product Development programme, which has already
assisted 50 companies in the region, gives manufacturers access to
key areas of support, including structured process and methodology
to mitigate technical and commercial risk, one-to-one mentoring and
funding towards prototyping, market research and securing
patents.
Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF),
MAS-WM has assisted more than 6000 firms, adding £250m to the
economic performance of industry.