PressClub United Kingdom · Article.
BMW Group UK engine plant marks 20-year milestone.
Mon Feb 08 01:00:00 CET 2021 Press Release
• Twenty successful years manufacturing highly efficient, award-winning engines. • Loyal and committed workforce mark plant and personal milestones. • 20th birthday comes as plant kicks off the search for new future talent. • Plant continues to play pivotal role in BMW Group’s international production network.
Press Contact.
Kate Bird
BMW Group
Tel: +44-1675-4-60742
Fax: +44-1675-460470
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Hams Hall. BMW Group’s UK engine manufacturing plant,
located in North Warwickshire, has reached a major milestone.
Officially opening and starting production in 2001, the plant is this
week marking 20 successful years manufacturing highly efficient and
award-winning three and four-cylinder petrol engines.
A committed workforce of more than 1,000 people support the
day-to-day operations of the site, which opened on 8 February, 2001.
Around a third of the team are also celebrating their own 20-year or
more contribution to the plant, with some of the original project team
members who were involved in the development of the site still a part
of today’s workforce.
Plant director, Dirk Dreher said: “Twenty years of manufacturing
our award-winning engines and precision components is a fantastic
achievement, and testament to the very loyal and committed workforce
we have at Plant Hams Hall.
“Thanks to a series of investments and a diverse workforce who
take pride in striving for continuous improvement, our plant remains
efficient, at the cutting edge of technology and able to make a very
positive contribution to the wider BMW Group.”
As well as continually improving to ensure the plant remains
pristine, state-of-the-art and able to produce the latest generation
of engines and components, developing people has also been high on the
agenda. The plant currently has 53 apprentices participating in
four-year training programmes - the highest number to be training at
any one time in the 20-year history of the plant – and the search is
already underway to find the next apprentices who will drive forward
another decade of success. Apprenticeships with the company have
proven to be a great foundation from which to progress to become
specialists, be part of the leadership team or go further afield to
take up roles elsewhere in BMW Group worldwide.
Throughout its 20-year history, Plant Hams Hall has been making
a strong contribution to BMW Group’s commitment to produce efficient engines.
Michael Nikolaides, Senior Vice President Production Engines and
E-Drives said: “BMW Group has always prided itself as an absolute
leader in engine technology. The Hams Hall plant is a high-performing
and reliable pillar in our drivetrain production network, consistently
delivering the latest generation of three and four-cylinder petrol
engines to vehicle plants across the world.
“With sales in multiple and diverse markets, BMW Group offers
its customers a combustion engine, a plug-in hybrid or a
fully-electric motor and the Hams Hall plant is making a valuable
contribution to this overall company strategy.”
The very first four-cylinder BMW engines produced at the plant
represented a revolutionary step forward in technology that brought a
significant decrease in fuel consumption combined with much lower
exhaust emissions.
An additional new engine family introduced in 2006 broadened the
plant’s supply and introduced a raft of updates to the MINI brand,
improving the iconic British car’s fuel consumption and emissions. The
plant was also the sole provider of the award-winning three-cylinder
engine that contributed to the overall drivetrain of the trailblazing
BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car.
Today the plant produces the latest generation of BMW Group
engines and supports the company’s ‘power of choice’ offer to
customers across a number of diverse global markets. Facilities at the
plant are also enabled to build three and four-cylinder engines for
plug-in hybrid models contributing to BMW Group’s electrification
strategy. In addition, the plant is preparing to take over production
of the company’s most prestigious V engines which will be moving from
the engine production plant in Munich.
Engines roll off the Hams Hall production line at more than one
per minute and are currently supplied to nine different BMW Group
vehicle plants globally, with the majority going to Plant Oxford in
the UK for MINI and to Plant Spartanburg, USA for the BMW ‘X’ model
range. More than five million engines have been produced since the
plant opened, with annual production in recent years exceeding 375,000 engines.
As well as engine assembly, a high-tech machining hall is a core
part of the Hams Hall site, producing key engine components –
crankshafts, cylinder blocks and cylinder heads. A large investment in
the last decade has meant the plant is able to produce these parts for
other BMW Group engine plants too, with annual production exceeding
more than one million components.
As National Apprenticeship Week kicks off, anyone with a passion
for an exciting career in the automotive industry is encouraged to
apply for an apprenticeship at the plant. A virtual apprenticeship
information event will be taking place on Thursday 11 February. For
further information and to join the event see https://bit.ly/39kGLw9. For more
information and to apply for an apprenticeship, please see the BMW
Group careers website at www.bmwgroup.jobs/uk
ENDS.
Images:
Main image: Plant Director, Dirk Dreher, pictured
with Shuk Ali (left) who has a 20-year history with the plant, and
apprentice, Annabel Chivers, who will celebrate her own
20th birthday this year.
Assembly production, Machining production and site images included.
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI,
Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading
premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides
premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production
network comprises 31 production and assembly facilities in 15
countries; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2020, the BMW Group sold over 2.3 million passenger vehicles
and more than 169,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in
the financial year 2019 was € 7.118 billion on revenues amounting to €
104.210 billion. As of 31 December 2019, the BMW Group had a workforce
of 126,016 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based 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. www.bmwgroup.com
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For further information, please contact:
Kate Bird
Communications Manager, BMW Plant Hams Hall
Tel: 07815 375843
Email: Kate.Bird@bmwgroup.com
Steve Wrelton
External Communications Manager
Tel:
(+44) (0)1865 826 270
Mobile: (+44) 07815 371363
e-mail: Steven.Wrelton@bmwgroup.com
Manuel Sattig
Head of Communications, Oxford, Swindon, Hams
Hall.
Mobile: (+44) (0)7815 371247
e-mail: Manuel.Sattig@bmwgroup.com