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BUSINESS MINISTER MICHAEL FALLON MAKES FIRST VISIT TO MINI PLANT
Fri May 31 14:25:16 CEST 2013 Press Release
Today, the MINI Plant welcomed Business Minister Michael Fallon on his first visit to the Oxford factory which is celebrating a century of car-making this year.
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Rebecca Baxter
BMW Group
Tel: +44-1865-8-26270
Fax: +44-1865-8-26750
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Rebecca Baxter
BMW Group
Today, the MINI Plant welcomed Business Minister Michael Fallon on his first visit to the Oxford factory which is celebrating a century of car-making this year.
Managing director Frank Bachmann and a number of first-year
apprentices gave Mr Fallon a tour of the plant including its
recently-opened state-of-the-art training facilities.
New investment at the factory represents the lion’s share of a
BMW Group £750 million UK investment programme which involves
building an extension to the bodyshop and implementing a raft of
technological upgrades to its paintshop and assembly operations.
The Business Minister said: “It is very encouraging to see BMW
Group’s continued investment in production and training facilities at
the Oxford plant. It is a clear sign that UK manufacturing here,
supported by the Government through the Regional Growth Fund, is
flourishing. It is also very heartening to see the passion and
enthusiasm of the next generation of engineers and apprentices.”
Frank Bachmann, who joined the plant as its managing director in
October last year, said: “We are all proud to see this major
investment and development programme coming to fruition as the plant
celebrates 100 years of car making. This facility and our teams here
can look forward to a bright future as we prepare the ground for
exciting new models set for launch over the coming years.”
The new training school is being used by apprentices and a
number of the plant’s 4,000 employees and contains fully-equipped
workshops and classroom areas.
Apprentice Natalie Murray showed the Minister around the
facilities and introduced him to apprentices demonstrating their
skills after nearly one year on the apprenticeship scheme.
Natalie, 23, who is following a three-year engineering course,
said: “Over the last year I have learnt so much, including
mechanical principles, hydraulics, pneumatics and electronics. One
of our most recent projects has looked at how to build electronic
circuit boards, and that’s what we showed the Minister today.
“I’ve always been interested in engineering and the
apprenticeship at MINI Plant Oxford is an ideal way to turn theory
into hands-on practice and build a career at the same time.”
Ends
The BMW Group
The BMW Group is the leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles in the world with its BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brands. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 28 production and assembly facilities in 13 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2012, the BMW Group sold about 1.85 million cars and more than 117,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2012 was euro 7.82 billion on revenues amounting to euro 76.85 billion. At 31 December 2012, the BMW Group had a workforce of 105,876 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy. As a result
of its efforts, the BMW Group has been ranked industry leader in the
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for the last eight years.
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About the Regional Growth Fund
The Government's Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is a £2.6 billion
fund operating across England from 2011 to 2016. It supports projects
and programmes that lever private sector investment to create economic
growth and sustainable employment. The first three rounds will
generate over £13 billion of private sector investment and create or
safeguard over 500,000 jobs. The fourth round of RGF closed in March
and will make a further £350 million available for different projects
and programmes. For more information please go to: www.gov.uk/understanding-the-regional-growth-fund
For further information please contact:
Wayne Morse MINI Production Communications Manager
Tel.: 01865 8 26568 Email: Wayne.Morse@bmwgroup.com
Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.co.uk
Customer website: www.mini.co.uk