News: Harworth Group completes new landmark Rotherham HQ

One of the UK's leading land and property regeneration companies, Harworth Group, has confirmed that it has taken the 18,500 sq ft landmark office building that has recently been completed at the listed firm's flagship Waverley site in Rotherham.

Rothbiz reported in 2024 on plans for one of the final parcels of development land at the former Orgreave coal mining site that is Yorkshire’s largest ever mixed-use development and also includes the iconic Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP).

Between the AMP and the housing development is an area known as Highfield Commercial. Close to the AMRC Training Centre, the area includes residential development, a public house, a primary school, the Highwall Park, the mixed use centre known as Olive Lane, and the Courtyard by Marriott hotel.

The new two and half storey office building for Harworth forms a landmark building fronting Highfield Spring and has a design centred on the site's past and mining heritage as well as the local steel and development industries.

In an update to the stock exchange, Harworth said that the investment in a new headquarters completed early in 2026, adding that: "alongside creating a fit for purpose sustainable workspace, this enables the future development or sale of our previous head office site and provides an anchor to open up the development of Highfield as one of the final phases of the Waverley site."

Harworth has previously been based in nearby Advantage House.

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The update also confirms that Harworth has sold the McLaren unit at AMP, a Grade A unit it built in 2018 and leased to the supercar manufacturer for its Composites Technology Centre (MCTC). Harworth sold the 75,000 sq ft Rotherham unit has one of five assets totalling 800,000 sq ft for a headline sales value of £47.7m, reflecting a blended net initial yield of 7.6%.

Also on the AMP, Harworth completed an 80,000 sq ft pre-let development to Sheffield-based Technicut, a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance components for the aerospace industry. This advanced manufacturing facility included the incorporation of renewable energy through an innovative green lease structure.

Overall, with recent deals for Technicut, Vulcan Seals and Danieli, Harworth only has around 200,000 sq ft of the total 2.1 million sq ft of consented development space remaining at the AMP. A completion of the park is expected in 2027.

Harworth Group owns, develops, and manages a portfolio of over 15,000 acres of Strategic Land over 100 sites located throughout the North of England and Midlands. With a focus on Grade A industrial and logistics (I&L) space and emerging opportunities in the data centre market, the company says that it is on track for its target £1bn of EPRA NDV - EPRA NDV is how Harworth measures the value of the its assets. Although timeframes have been extended to between end 2028 and end 2029 "to reflect the impact of ongoing macroeconomic weakness and resulting investor and business uncertainty, which has lengthened timings to complete deals."

In its full-year results for the period ending December 31 2025, the group saw its portfolio value grow by 9.1% to £937.2m.

Lynda Shillaw, Chief Executive of Harworth, commented: "I am pleased with the performance of our teams and our operational execution throughout 2025, positioning the portfolio to realise future upside potential and delivering a total property return of 8.4%.

"Harworth is at the intersection of some of the UK's most powerful trends, including data, advanced technologies, reindustrialisation and clean growth. Our land bank provides both strategic levers and optionality to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns, and the Harworth Platform underpinned by our specialist skills and ability to deliver successful serviced land and developments for world-leading businesses is central to stimulating and supporting economic growth in our regions."

Harworth Group website

Images: Tom Austen

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News: Apprentices in the driving seat at McLaren

McLaren Automotive is backing the government's £725m package of reforms to the apprenticeship system will help to tackle youth unemployment and drive economic growth.

Opened in 2018 on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) has established itself as a world-leader in lightweight carbon fibre construction for the automotive industry and is where the McLaren carbon lightweight architecture for the McLaren Artura high-performance hybrid supercar is constructed.

It was announced in 2022 that the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre, also on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, would be the new apprenticeship supplier for the next generation of engineers at McLaren.

With state-of-the-art facilities, AMRC Training Centre has trained thousands of apprentices since it opened over ten years ago.

The latest reforms are designed to tackle the sharp decline in apprenticeship starts among young people over the last decade – which have fallen by almost 40% since 2015/16 and shift the focus towards supporting young people into high-quality training and employment.

New flexibilities in the apprenticeship system will see new short courses in cutting-edge areas including AI, engineering and digital skills rolling out from April 2026.

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "For too long, success has been measured by how many young people go to university. That narrow view has held back opportunity and created barriers we need to break.

"If you choose an apprenticeship, you should have the same respect and opportunity as everyone else. It’s time to change the way apprenticeships are viewed and to put them on an equal footing with university. This is a defining cause for this government and a key step towards our ambition to get two-thirds of young people in higher-level learning or apprenticeships."

Nick Collins, Chief Executive Officer at McLaren Automotive, added: "Apprenticeships are a critical pipeline for developing the next generation of talent. They provide an immersive pathway for young people to gain practical experience and learn in real world environments.

"At McLaren we recognise the importance of investing in people and skills to create the world’s most extraordinary supercars. We are proud to inspire and equip the next generation to continue this tradition of excellence."

Last year the AMRC Training Centre launched a new composite apprenticeship with McLaren. The first cohort includes an all-female group based at McLaren’s headquarters in Woking, alongside two other learners at the MCTC in Rotherham.

McLaren machining apprentices Charlotte Carrington and Sophie Hulse provide an excellent case study for the AMRC's Journal, as an apprenticeship offered the practical experience they both desired. Every week, they spend three days in the AMRC Training Centre’s state-of-the-art workshops, immersing themselves in complex machining processes and mastering the precise skills required for advanced manufacturing. The remaining days are dedicated to core knowledge development, ensuring they have a deep theoretical understanding to complement their practical skills.

Once a month, the two friends travel to Surrey to visit the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking. This allows them to shadow experienced team members, observe projects and integrate into the high-performance culture; seeing firsthand how their training translates to real-world F1 applications.

McLaren Racing have now employed both Charlotte and Sophie after their time at AMRC completing an apprenticeship.

McLaren Automotive website
AMRC Training Centre website

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News: McLaren makes a revolutionary leap in composites at Rotherham tech centre

Building on over 40 years of carbon fibre innovation, McLaren has unveiled a world-first in supercar engineering: aerospace-derived Automated Rapid Tape (ART) carbon fibre. And it has been developed in Rotherham.

The manufacturer opened the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in 2018 on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), which is in Rotherham. The £50m investment was made in developing and manufacturing the future of lightweighting technology.

The latest revolutionary leap in composites uses precision manufacturing techniques from the aerospace industry to create carbon fibre structures that are even lighter, stiffer, and stronger, while reducing waste by up to 95%. It is a world-first application of a cutting-edge and highly specialised manufacturing process in the automotive sector.

The first model to feature this advanced material is the McLaren W1 – where ART carbon integrated into the active front wing delivers a 10% boost in stiffness to help enable the car’s extraordinary aerodynamic performance.

The aerospace industry uses ultra-precise manufacturing methods to build highly tailored carbon fibre structures for the latest generation of air jetliners and fighter aircraft, particularly for large, crucial parts such as aircraft fuselage and wings. This is achieved via the robotic depositing of composite tapes to layer structures, over traditional hand layup using pre-impregnated materials. And it is a rapid pace, ‘high rate’ version of this production method that McLaren has developed and now integrated into its manufacturing capabilities at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in Rotherham.

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Completely revolutionising the aerospace industry method of using robotic arms to layer composite tapes, McLaren’s Automated Rapid Tape method instead employs a specially designed machine using a fixed deposition head and a rapidly moving bed capable of rotation, which unlocks a faster manufacturing process suitable for automotive purposes and high-rate composites manufacturing.

Joe Elfort, plant director at the McLaren MCTC, said: "It means we can make the material as strong as possible where it needs to be and as light as possible where it can be. Think of it like human skin - it can be thin and flexible like your eyelids but also strong and durable like your elbows.

"With this new technology we've taken an aerospace scale manufacturing process and enhanced the rate capability so that it becomes viable for a supercar component. What's really unique is we can very accurately control the directionality of the strength the stiffness and the flexibility which allows us to optimise the design for the highly loaded and complex components like you see in the aerodynamic devices of the W1.

"Landmark supercars like W1 always usher in the next big technology trickle down. This is only the beginning of a remarkable new era in lightweight supercar engineering and performance."

The advantages Automated Rapid Tape technology can deliver in terms of manufacturing time and reduced costs creates the possibility of greater use of carbon fibre, in more areas of a vehicle. Looking beyond the carbon tub, wider use of ultra-lightweight body panels constructed of McLaren ART carbon fibre become more feasible and cost effective.

The Artura is McLaren’s first model to be built on all-new McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA) that was developed in Rotherham. The latest advancement now unlocks immense possibilities for the next generation of carbon fibre architectures. Integrating ART technology into the structure of an ultra-lightweight, ultra-strong carbon fibre tub – manufactured with minimal waste material generation - that can underpin the next-generation of McLaren supercars is already under consideration.

McLaren website

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News: New £3m programme launched to support South Yorkshire innovation

The new South Yorkshire Innovation Programme (SYIP) has been officially launched to help regional organisations to innovate, accelerate, and grow.

SYIP is a collaboration led by Sheffield Hallam University with the University of Sheffield and Barnsley Council, and is backed by £3m via the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA). It has been co-designed and developed with each of the four South Yorkshire local authorities.

The programme will provide opportunities to access expert consultancy, including academic-led innovation audits and discovery days; professional interventions; student projects and placements; and specialist equipment and facilities provided by the universities and Barnsley Council.

Support will be available to South Yorkshire-based organisations of all sizes and across all sectors. Participating organisations will contribute a percentage of full project costs, based on their size, and also be eligible for funding support.

Several partnerships have developed between Sheffield’s universities, local authorities and SYMCA aimed at driving economic growth and inward investment into South Yorkshire.

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South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “Our ideas powered the industrial revolution. We invented the world’s most popular sport. We’ve created products that are used worldwide, from New York fire hydrants that are made in Rotherham to the McLaren supercar in Sheffield.

“Mclaren, Boeing and Rolls Royce already work alongside brilliant local businesses, in and around our world-class advanced manufacturing district.

“My mission is to build a bigger and better economy but to do that we need to create new industries and jobs for the future.

“Innovation is how we will achieve this vision and we can’t do that by just focusing on one sector or capability. We’ll only do it by working in partnership and that’s why I’m pleased to be investing in the Innovation Programme.

“There is talent and opportunity right across our region and by investing in our people and places we can unlock South Yorkshire’s full potential.”

Professor Conor Moss, Executive Dean of the College of Business, Technology and Engineering and of Sheffield Business School, at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “There are more opportunities for businesses and organisations to thrive in South Yorkshire now than there ever have been before. The key is innovation, and we are delighted to be leading this programme to help people in our region to scale-up and reach their goals.

“At Sheffield Hallam, we believe in collaboration and in championing our region. SYIP will help us to take cutting-edge research and knowledge from our academics and turn it into tangible advice and outcomes for businesses."

Professor Sue Hartley, Vice-President for Research and Innovation at the University of Sheffield, said: “At the University of Sheffield we’re committed to collaborating with partners across the region to drive innovation and fuel economic growth. This ambitious programme is a brilliant opportunity to build on our successes and forge new partnerships with businesses and organisations of all sizes.

“We look forward to learning more about regional organisations’ specific challenges and aspirations, and how we can harness our world-leading research and expertise to help them innovate and grow in a rapidly changing landscape.”

South Yorkshire Innovation Programme website

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News: AMRC Training Centre launches new composite apprenticeship with McLaren

The University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre in Rotherham will become the first training provider in South Yorkshire to deliver a new composites apprenticeship in a move to sustain the longevity of the capability within manufacturing by creating its workforce of the future.

Together with McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive, the AMRC Training Centre will deliver a new advanced level composites technician apprenticeship, in addition to the metallic machining apprenticeship the centre is already delivering with McLaren. 

Alongside McLaren, Wirral-based Teledyne CML Composites, who specialise in the manufacture of composites parts and assemblies on some of the world's most advanced aircraft platforms is also supporting the new apprenticeship – with the aim that more companies will come on board in the future.

With state-of-the-art facilities on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the centre has trained over 1,700 apprentices since it opened ten years ago.

Nikki Jones, Director of the AMRC Training Centre, said it was a real pride point to launch the new apprenticeship, adding: “Working alongside McLaren and Composites UK, a need for such an apprenticeship was identified to help fill the national skills gap of people in composites due to an ageing workforce.

“Composites has always been a capability the AMRC has had a big focus on and as its new building is underway to deliver a new programme called Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS), which is likely to provide a number of jobs in the region – we are acting now to build our expertise and capacity in composites to help supply the future workforce.

“Along with employers, we’ve put a new delivery model together to meet the needs of industry and we are the only people to deliver this composite apprenticeship in the region. This is something we are very proud of and we are excited to see this course grow.”

Piers Thynne, Chief Operating Officer for the McLaren Formula 1 Team, said: “McLaren Racing has led the way in pioneering advanced composite materials in our 60-year history. From being the first team to introduce carbon fibre to the F1 car, to trialling innovative and sustainable alternatives like recycled carbon fibre on track.

“To continue to lead the way, we need the best talent at the cutting edge of composites. That's why we’re delighted to be working with our colleagues at McLaren Automotive and the AMRC Training Centre to add to our existing apprenticeship programme with this composites apprenticeship.

“We believe in creating pathways for everyone to get into motorsport, which is why our early careers pipeline is vital to delivering the continued high-performance standards we set ourselves both on and off the track.”

John Toner, Vice President and General Manager for Teledyne Aerospace and Defence Electronics UK and General Manager of Teledyne CML Composites, said: “Teledyne CML Composites are very excited to be part of the apprenticeship programme launched in partnership with the AMRC and McLaren to provide a market leading training pathway for composites manufacturing personnel.

“The composites technician apprenticeship is a key part of our young employee training strategy that will yield the next generation of highly skilled composites experts and fulfil our commitment to the development of young people and sustain Teledyne CML Composites’ continued growth ambitions.”

Trade association Composites UK, which supports companies to enable them to grow and succeed in the competitive global market, said the new composites apprenticeship at the AMRC Training Centre is a pivotal tool in helping to meet the current and future skills challenges currently being faced by the sector.

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Matt Bradney, Skills and Workforce Development Director for Composites UK, said: “Composite materials are critical in order for the UK to meet its net zero targets and composites is an exciting and growing industry for young people to be involved in. There are various entry points, a key one being the composite technician apprenticeship.

“For the apprentice, learning and earning on the job is a great way to get a head start. For the employer, the new apprenticeship model launched by the AMRC gives flexibility in the delivery of the learning aspect, making it easier to get involved with a more efficient way to develop the workforce of the future.”

The AMRC, one of seven centres in the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, is working with other catapult centres to build industry-ready technology capabilities, alongside supporting the development of future engineers.

Steve Foxley, CEO for the AMRC, added: “The AMRC Training Centre is helping the manufacturing industry by training new composite apprentices who are vitally needed for the future, while making sure the courses tie into technology areas of growing importance, such as the ones seen in catapult centres including the AMRC. This capability is key for a growing number of businesses in South Yorkshire and beyond for their productivity growth.

“It’s fantastic to see how the AMRC Training Centre continues to build on its industry-forward approach by adding another important learning capability to its ever-widening selection of subjects.”

Students who are undertaking the 36-month apprenticeship will engage in the production of composite components or products that are used in a range of applications, some of which include automotive, motorsport, aerospace, rail and renewable industries.

The first cohort for the apprenticeship started last September, which includes an all-female group based at McLaren’s headquarters in Woking, alongside two other learners at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in Rotherham. Opened in 2018 on the AMP, MCTC has established itself as a world-leader in lightweight carbon fibre construction for the automotive industry and is where the McLaren carbon lightweight architecture for the McLaren Artura high-performance hybrid supercar is constructed. Three more learners are placed with Teledyne CML at its base in Bromborough on the Wirral.

AMRC Training Centre website
McLaren website

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News: Local apprentices take ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ trip to home of McLaren

Apprentices who had the rare opportunity of a visit to McLaren’s flagship technology centre described the trip as being ‘one of the coolest things they had ever seen’ and was ‘an amazing tour that money couldn’t buy.’

The group of ten were finalists in the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre’s Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021, with the delayed ceremony being held earlier this year. Part of their prize was a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip to the headquarters of McLaren Racing and McLaren Automotive, which was gifted to them by the awards’ headline sponsor, Stanley Black & Decker and its offshoot manufacturing company, DEWALT.

The AMRC Training Centre has multimillion pound facilities on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham.

Kate Todd-Davis, a manufacturing engineer for Rolls-Royce, who was crowned the overall ‘Apprentice of the Year’ at the awards, said: “The McLaren Technology Centre is a very impressive, world-class manufacturing facility and it’s one of the coolest places I have ever seen.

“It was fascinating to see the evolution of Formula One (F1) cars on display and having the opportunity to go into the manufacturing areas and see the different technologies they use.”

From the outside, the Woking-based facility has a picturesque green landscape surrounding it – reminiscent of a scene taken straight from a Jane Austen novel – and from above it looks like the Chinese symbol of Yin and Yang. But it is on inside where heaven on Earth can be found for car fanatics.

As soon as you set foot through the door, visitors are greeted by a sea of colour in the shape of legendary McLaren racing cars from throughout history, alongside a showcase of McLaren sports cars through the ages.

With glass windows as far as the eye can see, the facility also houses a fully-operational manufacturing facility for all of its F1 demands, countless trophy cabinets showcasing their achievements spanning several decades, as well as its impressive sports car production centre, which is a dream sight for any serious petrolhead.

Jack Gascoigne, a project engineer at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), said the trip was brilliant. He added: “I am a big F1 fan and I’ve gone from never seeing an F1 car before, to then getting to see about 20 in one day.

“I could not stop smiling the whole time. My highlight of the tour was getting to hold Daniel Ricciardo’s steering wheel. It was a visit like no other and will be hard to top – it was an amazing once- in-a-lifetime tour that money cannot buy.”

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Connor Blades, who is a process engineer for Stanley Black & Decker, says the tour was the best experience of his life.

“It felt such a privilege to get to go and see the McLaren facility. I love F1, but even for people that don’t, you can still appreciate the centre and what’s there,” said Connor.

“It’s cool to be able to tie in a work trip around something that I enjoy as a hobby. My favourite part of the visit was when I walked into the sports car production area and saw the McLaren cars being built.

“I feel very grateful that from undertaking an apprenticeship at the AMRC Training Centre, it has allowed me the chance to access such a place.”

Anne Griggs, head of business development and contracts at the AMRC Training Centre, said it was great to see the apprentices receive such a fantastic opportunity. “We are so thrilled that our apprentices were given such an amazing prize to visit McLaren’s HQ,” she added.

“Our apprentices work very hard, so it’s good to see that their efforts are rewarded and are given the chance to visit such industry-forward facilities.”

AMRC Training Centre website

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News: Celebrating National Manufacturing Day in Rotherham

As part of the inaugural National Manufacturing Day, Mike Maddock, Vice Chair of the Make UK Yorkshire & Humber regional board, represented the organisation when South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard visited the McLaren Automotive Ltd team at their Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) facility in Rotherham.

National Manufacturing Day on July 7 was organised by manufacturing trade body Make UK to get manufacturers to show the reality of modern manufacturing careers, looking to engage with students, parents, teachers, community leaders and local residents.

On the same day a report ‘Manufacturing: State of the Industry, the Potential for Growth’ was released which suggests that UK manufacturers have ambitions to grow their business and increase employment over the next five years.

McLaren showcased its new Artura – a high-performance hybrid supercar is the first of McLaren’s road cars to feature a carbon fibre chassis developed in the region.

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McLaren’s first-ever series-production High-Performance Hybrid (HPH) supercar is the first model to be built on all-new McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA), uniquely optimised for HPH powertrains and built in-house at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in Rotherham.

The £50m MCTC was opened on the AMP in Rotherham in 2018.

Mike Maddock, who is also the Managing Director and co-owner of AMP-based PES Performance Ltd, said: "It was an honour to represent Make UK on this important day for UK manufacturing, and to help host the visit of the new regional mayor.

“Its great to see what McLaren are doing here, both in terms of onshoring the type of work previously undertaken overseas and also by helping increase the experience and expertise of manufacturing within UK plc.”

Also on the day, The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) ran free tours in some of its most impressive buildings including the Factory of the Future and the AMRC Training Centre in Rotherham and Factory 2050 in Sheffield - so people could see firsthand the difference it is making to manufacturing and the surrounding local communities through its innovation and research.

National Manufacturing Day website

Images: Make UK

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News: AMRC Training Centre drives forward with new McLaren Racing partnership

The University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre in Rotherham has secured pole position to become the new apprenticeship supplier for the next generation of engineers who want to steer their careers into motorsport with McLaren Racing’s Formula 1 Team.

Globally renowned for being a pioneer in the competitive world of F1, McLaren Racing has formed a partnership with the AMRC Training Centre to provide level-three apprenticeships in metallic machining, starting in September 2022.

The lucky candidates will divide their study time between the AMRC Training Centre on the Advancd Manufacturing park (AMP) in Rotherham, with on-site experience at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) in Woking, Surrey.

Piers Thynne, McLaren Racing’s Executive Director of F1 Operations, said: “The AMRC not only provides the best machining apprenticeships in the country, but has the best set-up to help grow the machinists of the future. I am excited to see this partnership develop the next generation of apprentices who will join us at McLaren and I look forward to welcoming our first cohort, later this year.”

Apprentices will learn all the aspects involved with the manufacture of metallic and additive manufactured components and be able to operate various manual and computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools within the manufacturing departments at the MTC.

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Anne Griggs, head of business development and contracts at the AMRC Training Centre, says bringing more opportunities with high-profile employers to South Yorkshire is an exciting step forward.

“Securing the delivery of an apprenticeship for a major player like McLaren Racing is fantastic news and provides us with opportunities to collaborate with some of the most well-respected companies, not only within South Yorkshire, but across the UK and the world.

“We already have an existing relationship working with luxury supercar maker McLaren Automotive and their McLaren Composites Technology Centre in the Sheffield region, and we are excited to extend our partnership further with McLaren Racing’s Formula 1 Team - helping them to create the skilled engineers of tomorrow - and providing them with the knowledge and skills required for them to continue their ride into the world of motorsport.

“It is a privilege to become a part of the apprentices’ journey and we look forward to welcoming them to the AMRC Training Centre in September.”

The full-time position will be based at McLaren’s headquarters in Woking, with the apprenticeship training taking place at the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre.

AMRC Training website

Images: McLaren

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News: McLaren's love letter from Britain

McLaren Automotive features in a new campaign that highlights Britain’s high-end brands and luxury exports, as well as telling the stories of local creative industries that have had an international impact.

A new film highlights the levels of innovation encountered in South Yorkshire which led the British supercar manufacturer to create a £50m innovation and production centre in Rotherham.

Love Letters from Britain is a new series of short documentary-style films uncovering the untold stories of UK’s most innovative luxury brands, produced for Walpole by BBC StoryWorks Commercial Productions and including stories supported by the GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland Campaign.

McLaren is a partner in the GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland Campaign, a government and private sector initiative to inspire the world and encourage people to visit, do business, invest and study in the UK. Previous work has involved McLaren highlighting the UK’s strengths in advanced engineering and the promotion of STEM careers.

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Called "Engineering a more sustainable future, from race track to road," the film around McLaren focuses on innovative approaches in the automotive sector to help protect our planet.

As reported by Rothbiz, McLaren Automotive has launched the Artura - the first car to be built on an all-new platform architecture manufactured in Rotherham that will preserve McLaren’s super-lightweight engineering philosophy when adding hybrid powertrain elements including an E-motor and battery pack.

In the film, Piers Scott, PR & Communications director at McLaren Automotive, explains: "The McLaren Artura takes everything that we have learnt to date from our elite motorsports history, through our ten years of manufacturing supercars and distils all of that into one new model.

"It is underpinned by an all new carbon fibre, lightweight architecture, which is a key enabler for us in terms of introducing battery and electric motor technology.

"The UK provides the perfect landscape and environment for running an innovative business. Taking just the example of our work with the Sheffield city region and our linkages into Sheffield University and other academic partners, we've been able to move very, very quickly in terms of experimenting, establishing and then scaling up our manufacturing processes where carbon fibre manufacturing is concerned."

Opening in 2018, the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, was backed by funding via the Local Enterprise Partnership and by research and development at the nearby University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).

Steve Foxley, CEO of the AMRC, said: "We are the convener. We sit in that gap where we bring problems together with solutions and we come up with innovations.

"We built a facility here for McLaren. We built a prototype and a proof of concept. We proved the new manufacturing process. And what we then did is move the technology up the road to the McLaren facility.

"We have also trained a number of degree apprentices from McLaren and also provided technology training across the whole of the McLaren team.

"Companies like McLaren are brilliant. They have got such a mix and diversity of people, always bringing fresh ideas and challenging some of the preconceptions we've got."

McLaren website
AMRC website

Images: GREAT Britain & Northern Ireland Campaign / Walpole

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News: Rotherham-made parts herald new era of McLaren

McLaren Automotive has launched the Artura - the first car to be built on an all-new platform architecture manufactured in Rotherham.

McLaren’s first-ever series-production High-Performance Hybrid (HPH) supercar is the first model to be built on all-new McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA), uniquely optimised for HPH powertrains and built in-house at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in Rotherham.

The £50m MCTC was opened on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham in 2018.

All-new from the ground up, the Artura presented McLaren engineers and designers with new opportunities to innovate, chief among these being how to preserve McLaren’s super-lightweight engineering philosophy when adding hybrid powertrain elements including an E-motor and battery pack.

A demanding programme of weight reduction, encompassing every area of the Artura from the chassis platform through the uniquely compact HPH powertrain system to the weight of cabling used in the electrical systems (where a 10% reduction was achieved), resulted in the Artura having a lightest dry weight of 1,395kg. The total weight of hybrid components is just 130kg (which includes an 88kg battery pack and 15.4kg E-motor), resulting in a DIN kerbweight of 1,498kg which is on par with comparable supercars that do not have hybrid powertrains, giving the Artura a super-lightweight advantage.

Jamie Corstorphine, Director of Product Strategy, McLaren Automotive, said: “The new McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA) is quite literally at the core of the super-lightweight engineering philosophy that is inherent throughout the Artura. We developed this all-new, High-Performance Hybrid supercar with all of our learnings from decades of working with advanced composite and other lightweight materials, using world-first processes and techniques to deliver weight savings that offset heavier hybrid powertrains, ensuring greater energy efficiency and maintaining the outstanding agility and dynamic performance our customers expect.”

To achieve the very specific aims of the Artura programme McLaren started right at the core of its new supercar, with a completely new carbon fibre architecture. This had to not only be true to the company’s philosophy of super-lightweight engineering for dynamic and performance reasons, but also crucially to offset the extra weight of a hybrid powertrain, as well as being tailored to accommodate the battery pack.

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The new architecture features three elements: an all-new carbon fibre monocoque occupant structure, a new chassis with aluminium crash beams and rear subframe, and a first-to-market domain-based ethernet electrical architecture.

Four years in the making, MCLA is the first architecture to be manufactured at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC). Flexible in application (but physically incredibly stiff and strong) this scalable platform architecture heralds the beginning of a new era of McLaren supercars.

The McLaren Artura marks another revolutionary leap. No McLaren monocoque, whether designed for the road or race track, has ever had to do more: the carbon fibre structure now additionally provides a safety cell for the battery pack and integrates further crash and load-bearing functionality. Yet it remains incredibly lightweight, weighing just 82kg including battery compartment, aero surfaces, B-pillars and door-hinge fixings, contributing to the low overall weight of the Artura, despite its 130kg of hybrid components.

At first glance, the MCLA monocoque may appear similar to other McLaren carbon fibre structures, but the geometry of every surface is new, and it is constructed from four new carbon materials, a new resin system and a new structural core material. These new properties accommodate both the platform requirements and new, bespoke mechanised production processes now on stream at MCTC.

The in-house approach ensures McLaren can constantly innovate monocoques to accommodate new technologies or new models, without compromising the qualities that ensure its chassis are the lightest, stiffest and strongest in their class.

Mike Flewitt, CEO, McLaren Automotive, said: “Every drop of McLaren’s experience and expertise has been poured into the Artura. Our all-new, High-Performance Hybrid delivers all of the performance, driver engagement and dynamic excellence for which McLaren is renowned, with the additional benefit of EV driving capability. The introduction of the Artura is a landmark moment – for McLaren, for our customers who will appreciate and enjoy this car on every emotional and rational level, and for the supercar world."

McLaren website

Images: McLaren

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News: Sheffield City Region wins FDI Strategy Award for advanced manufacturing

The Sheffield City Region (SCR) has won the FDI Strategy Award in the Advanced Manufacturing category run by industry magazine fDi Intelligence.

The FDi Strategy Awards recognise Strategic Excellence in cities and regions across the globe.

The judges applauded the Sheffield City Region as a leader in advanced manufacturing and materials, benefiting from world-renowned research with the University of Sheffield, the Royce Institute for Research and Innovation of Advanced Materials and the McLaren Composites Technology Centre.

Judges were impressed with the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District (AMID), which is the UK’s largest research-led advanced manufacturing cluster and includes the key asset of the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) which is in Rotherham. AMID is home to the University of Sheffield’s world-leading Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), its sister centre, the Nuclear AMRC and its award-winning Apprentice Training Centre. Built around world-leading university and business collaborations, AMID has attracted investment from companies including McLaren, Boeing, Nikken, Metalysis, PES Performance, MetLase, Iceotope, Rolls-Royce, Dormer, Sandvik, Atkins Global, ITM Power and PCM.

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The awards also recognised the major advanced manufacturing technologies being developed here, including actuation systems for Boeing’s Next-Generation aircraft and the development of turbine blades for jet engines at Sheffield’s Rolls-Royce Advanced Blade Casting Facility.

Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis said: “We are delighted that the Sheffield City Region has won the FDi Strategy Award for ‘Advanced Manufacturing’. Our industrial heritage, plus the skills and expertise we have in this area, means we are at the forefront of the development of technology that is enabling the digitisation of advanced manufacturing on a global scale.

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"We are very proud of our advanced manufacturing sector which includes many large organisations, such as Boeing and McLaren, plus an array of SME businesses collaborating to deliver pioneering solutions to global issues. It is little wonder that so many international advanced manufacturing businesses choose to invest and locate here.”

SCR website

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News: McLaren's all-new Artura first to feature Rotherham-made platform

McLaren Automotive has announced that its next launch model, the Artura, will be powered by a hybrid engine, and it will also be the first car to be built on an all-new platform architecture manufactured in Rotherham.

Rothbiz reported earlier this year on the supercar firm's introduction of an all-new, flexible, lightweight vehicle architecture which will underpin its next generation of electrified supercars. And that they will be made in Rotherham.

The McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) was opened on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham in 2018. The new architecture, designed specifically to accommodate new hybrid powertrains, has been entirely engineered, developed and produced in-house in the UK at the 75,000 sq ft site which has enabled the company to innovate and produce lightweight carbon fibre "tubs."

The Artura marks the beginning of a new era for the pioneering British company. The Artura is McLaren's first High-Performance Hybrid series production supercar.

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The first car to be built on an all-new, platform architecture optimised for electrification and designed and manufactured in the UK at the MCTC, the Artura furthers McLaren's commitment to super-lightweight engineering principles that have their roots in motorsport.

The additional mass of the High-Performance Hybrid system has been largely offset by the application of weight-saving technologies throughout the chassis, body and powertrain. Additionally, the McLaren Carbon Lightweight Architecture (MCLA) at the heart of the Artura not only enables the car's class-leading weight advantage, it is also the base for the dynamic excellence inherent in every McLaren.

Mike Flewitt, chief executive officer at McLaren Automotive, said: "Every element of the Artura is all-new – from the platform architecture and every part of the High-Performance Hybrid powertrain, to the exterior body, interior and cutting-edge driver interface – but it draws on decades of McLaren experience in pioneering super-lightweight race and road car technologies to bring all of our expertise in electrification to the supercar class."

The new Artura marks the debut of an all-new compact twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine, designed to combine with an electric motor in a new lightweight High-Performance Hybrid powertrain that retains the performance benefits of McLaren’s larger capacity V8 engines and has the additional attraction of improved torque response at low engine speeds to deliver scintillating acceleration. The Artura can also run on electric power alone for everyday emission-free urban journeys.

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News: Made in Rotherham - the key to McLaren's electric future

McLaren Automotive has confirmed the introduction of the brand's all-new, flexible, lightweight vehicle architecture which will underpin its next generation of electrified supercars. And they will be made in Rotherham.

In 2019, Rothbiz reported that the first prototype carbon fibre "MonoCell," the tub that forms the main structure of McLaren's cars, had been shipped from the company's £50m innovation and production centre in Rotherham to the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey.

The McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) was opened on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham in 2018 and Rotherham staff have been busy on new components, seen for the first time on the latest in a line of "Longtail" McLarens.

The firm has now confirmed that the new architecture, designed specifically to accommodate new hybrid powertrains, has been entirely engineered, developed and produced in-house in the UK at the 75,000 sq ft site.

The new flexible vehicle architecture utilises innovative, world-first processes and techniques to strip out excess mass, reduce overall vehicle weight, while also further improving safety attributes.

It will underpin the next generation of McLaren hybrid models as the supercar company enters its second decade of series vehicle production.

The first new McLaren hybrid supercar to be based on the all-new architecture will launch in 2021.

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Mike Flewitt, chief executive officer at McLaren Automotive, said: "The new ground-breaking vehicle architecture is every bit as revolutionary as the MonoCell chassis we introduced with the company’s first car, the 12C, when we first embarked on making production vehicles a decade ago.

"This new, ultra-lightweight carbon fibre chassis boasts greater structural integrity and higher levels of quality than ever before with our new MCTC facility quickly becoming recognised as a global centre of excellence in composite materials science and manufacturing.

"Our advanced expertise in light weight composites processes and manufacturing combined with our experience in cutting-edge battery technology and high-performance hybrid propulsion systems means we are ideally placed to deliver to customers levels of electrified high-performance motoring that until now have simply been unattainable."

In 2018, the fastest growing luxury automotive brand in the UK revealed an updated and expanded £1.2bn business plan and upped its production targets to reach 6,000 mid-engined sportscars and supercars a year by 2025. The company set out a move towards 100% hybrid sportscars and supercars by 2024.

Flewitt added: "For us, light-weighting and electrification go hand-in-hand to achieve better performance as well as more efficient vehicles."

Visitors are unlikely to ever be allowed inside the Rotherham facility to see production but the process starts with the creation of hundreds of pieces of carbon fibre "cloth" - cut to specific sizes and laser-guided into place into "preforms." Infused with resin, the material is then moulded under immense force (the equivalent to 100 double decker buses) before being machined with extreme accuracy so that it can accept the mounting of the rest of the car parts during assembly in Woking.

Following a ramping up of recruitment at the MCTC in 2019, the firm announced redundancies in May as the business was impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic.

McLaren Automotive website

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News: Big names announce job losses

Rolls-Royce and McLaren, two of the marquee manufacturers that have operations in Rotherham, have both announced large scale job losses.

Rolls-Royce's reorganisation is expected to result in the loss of at least 9,000 roles and McLaren's corporate restructure process is expected to result in around 1,200 redundancies.

The location of any redundancies has not yet been announced.

Derby-based Rolls-Royce said that due to COVID-19, activity in the commercial aerospace market will take several years to return to the levels seen just a few months ago.

With a global workforce of 52,000, the proposed reorganisation is expected to generate annualised savings of more than £1.3bn. Expenditure across plant and property, capital and other indirect cost areas will also be cut.

The proposed reorganisation will predominantly affect the firm's Civil Aerospace business, where it will carry out a detailed review of its facility footprint.

Fully operational in 2017, Rolls-Royce's £110m facility on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham is the most advanced turbine blade casting facility in the world. The 150,000 sq ft facility employs over 150 people.

Warren East, CEO at Rolls-Royce, said: "This is not a crisis of our making. But it is the crisis that we face and we must deal with it. Our airline customers and airframe partners are having to adapt and so must we. Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce. But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times."

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McLaren Group has recently commenced a proposed restructure programme as part of a wider business plan to ensure its long-term future success.

McLaren has been severely affected by the current pandemic. Bosses said that the cancellation of motorsport events, the suspension of manufacturing and retail activities around the world and reduced demand for technology solutions have all led to a sudden impact on the Group's revenue generating activities.

Subject to employee consultation, the proposed restructure is expected to result in around 1,200 redundancies across the Group's Applied, Automotive, and Racing businesses, as well as support and back office functions.

The £50m McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) was opened on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in 2018. It manufactures lightweight carbon fibre "tubs" and other carbon fibre components for supercars.

Just last November the Woking firm announced that it would be doubling the workforce at the MCTC to over 200 by the time it is in full production in 2020.

Paul Walsh, executive chairman of the McLaren Group, said: "We deeply regret the impact that this restructure will have on all our people, but especially those whose jobs may be affected. It is a course of action we have worked hard to avoid, having already undertaken dramatic cost-saving measures across all areas of the business. But we now have no other choice but to reduce the size of our workforce.

"This is undoubtedly a challenging time for our company, and particularly our people, but we plan to emerge as an efficient, sustainable business with a clear course for returning to growth."

Rolls-Royce website
McLaren website

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News: McLaren launch latest supercar - complete with new Rotherham made parts

British supercar manufacturer, McLaren Automotive, has revealed its 765LT - the road car which includes the first use of carbon fibre body components produced at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) in Rotherham.

The £50m centre was opened on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in 2018 by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge alongside HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, as part of McLaren's ambitious plans to increase the rate of innovation of its famous lightweight carbon fibre chassis that are at the heart of all its cars.

The new 75,000 sq ft facility shipped the first of its lightweight carbon fibre "tubs" last year but the Rotherham staff have been busy on new components, seen for the first time on the latest in a line of "Longtail" McLarens .

The 765LT is the most dynamically advanced and engaging LT model ever from McLaren Automotive. It includes an active rear wing, rear bumper and front floor designed, engineered and manufactured at the MCTC – the first use of MCTC-produced carbon fibre body components in a McLaren road car.

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The hydraulically actuated rear wing sits proud of the rear deck, curving upwards towards the middle, rather than swooping downwards in line with the rear bodywork. The wing aids downforce levels, draws hot air out of the engine bay and improves high-speed braking.

Filippo D'Adamo, programme manager – McLaren 765LT, said: "Any "Longtail" is a very special McLaren, a car that drives our designers and engineers to question how much more we can do, how far we can go. In the 765LT this has resulted in new McLaren carbon fibre technologies enabling vital weight savings, the most power and torque ever in an LT, the quickest acceleration and the highest levels of driver engagement."

Mike Flewitt, CEO, McLaren Automotive, added: "The 765LT is the most accomplished and exhilarating LT model ever from McLaren Automotive. Incredible performance and astonishing levels of driver engagement – the result of hundreds of detailed engineering actions undertaken to ensure the purest possible connection between driver and car – are the stand-out attributes of an LT developed with single-minded determination to deliver a wholly immersive driving experience to those who secure one of the 765 available to customer order."

McLaren website



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News: Rotherham recruitment ramped up at McLaren

British luxury supercar maker McLaren is on the hunt for some unexpected recruits for its new £50m innovation and manufacturing facility in Rotherham.

Earlier this year, the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, delivered the first prototype carbon fibre MonoCell, the tub that forms the main structure of McLaren's cars.

After perfecting the production processes, McLaren is now doubling the workforce at the MCTC to over 200 by the time it is in full production next year.

Recruitment is underway and applicants with experience in a wide variety of sectors from boat-building to the textiles trade and sporting goods industries are being encouraged to apply for the next wave of jobs, apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships.

Those skills are required because materials like carbon fibre start life as a fabric that has to be cut, put into moulds before being treated through a variety of processes before becoming a hard material.

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McLaren aims to win the automotive race to lightweight which will become ever more important as cars move towards hybrid powertrains which are generally heavier than their traditional petrol counterparts. The MCTC aims to be a world-leader in innovating lightweight composite materials.

The recently announced McLaren Elva is set to be the lightest road car ever from McLaren Automotive, with Rotherham-made MonoCells as part of a bespoke carbon fibre chassis and body combined with unique carbon fibre seats and sintered carbon ceramic brakes.

Mike Flewitt, chief executive at McLaren Automotive, said: "As we're working with advanced, lightweight materials in new ways that have never been used before on this scale for car production, McLaren is looking for a range of skills you wouldn't normally associate with the automotive industry.

"We're also looking to hire apprentices and degree apprentices. The advanced technologies and processes they will be working on could one day be used in other industries to produce lighter, and therefore more efficient, vehicles which will not only help McLaren to continue to innovate, but the UK to become a global leader in composite materials expertise."

McLaren Recruitment website


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News: Rothbiz gains an ally - the Prime Minister

If you can get past the headline-grabbing heckling, the fudged answers to press questions, the less than enthusiastic audience reaction and the "light-hearted remark" from the host, you'll find that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom stood up and promoted positive stories about Rotherham businesses.

Boris Johnson used a high profile event in Rotherham to renew a drive to give more power to Northern regions.

At The Convention of the North held at Magna, the PM said: "[It is] only right that we are meeting here on the banks of the Don, literally the crucible in which the history of the nation was forged - and indeed of the modern world.

"When Nelson defeated the French at Trafalgar and set this country on course for about 100 years of imperial expansion, the cannons on HMS Victory were forged here at Walker and Company.

"It was Rotherham pipes that brought fresh drinking water to Hong Kong, Rotherham steel that clad Brunel’s Great Eastern and formed the skeletons of New York skyscrapers and did you know that every fire hydrant in New York was cast in British steel less than two miles from here at the works of Guest and Chrimes.

"That was before it occurred to anyone to put tariffs on British steel.

"This place where we meet was so central to our national life that it was bombed in both the first and second world wars.

"And so it was entirely fitting that 50 years ago the works here at Templeborough adopted as its logo the phoenix – perpetually rising from the ashes.

"And across this region you can feel that phoenix-like transformation as the Northern Powerhouse – which Jake just spoke so eloquently - thrums into life with a low-carbon, fuel efficient roar.

"Look at Catcliffe.

"Where a factory that once made superb glass is now being used by McLaren to turn super-light, super-strong Yorkshire carbon fibre into the fastest production cars on earth.

"Right next door, at the Advanced Manufacturing Park, Xeros Technology are producing the world's most environmentally friendly washing machine - that's the spin and I bet it's true.

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"Boeing chose Sheffield as its first civil aerospace factory in Europe – with nearly half its employees taken on as apprentices.

"And did anybody have a bagel this morning? Did you? No?

"Well if you did, it was probably made just up the road in Mexborough, where, in the largest bagel factory in Europe produces fully three-quarters of the bagels eaten in Britain every day.

"Sheffield is the home of the UK's largest provider of hybrid and electric vehicle drive systems, a company called Magtec.

"A world-first initiative, Magtec is retrofitting Sheffield's refuse lorries with battery-power, with enough juice to negotiate the seven hills and recharge themselves with energy they generate from the very rubbish they collect.

"Rubbish powered rubbish vans – there's a joke there somewhere which I will leave to you.

"I tell you, there is no limit to the imagination, innovation, ingenuity and leadership in the North."

The Prime Minister also said that the Government are committed to getting the Sheffield City Region devolution deal done and set out his intention to allow Northern communities to take more control over their rail services.

He added: "In this birthplace of the railways, we can do so much better. Today – coming from London on the train, it took me just over an hour and a half to get to Doncaster. But if, for example, you travelled from Liverpool to Rotherham – less than half the distance – you might have had to leave an hour earlier than me, and change as many as three times."

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News: Economic projects promote pride for partnership

Economic regeneration and high profile business investments have been the main highlights showing how far Rotherham has come in a short space of time.

Projects such as the £12m improvements at the bus station, Gulliver's Valley, the new university centre and the £50m McLaren investment were all used to show how a shared ambition for the borough is becoming reality.

The Rotherham Together Partnership was launched in September 2015 and the Rotherham Plan 2025 was officially launched in 2017. It provides a framework for partners' joint efforts to create a borough that "is better for everyone who wants to live, work, invest or visit here."

The plan is based around five "game changers": building stronger communities, skills and employment, integrated health and social care, a place to be proud of and the town centre.

The partnership brings together a wide range of organisations, including major public bodies. Its Business Growth Board is responsible for the delivery of strategies which feeds into the overarching plan and includes indicators on business starts, employment and skill levels. The Rotherham Employment and Skills Strategy has recently been endorsed by the Council's cabinet.

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At a partnership event at New York Stadium, Council leader Cllr. Chris Read, who is also the partnership chair, said: "We said that our game changers would alter people's lives and today we can see those ambitions transformed into reality with much more still to come.

"Then we had secured £12m to refurbish the bus station, but the building was still falling down.

"Then McLaren has announced a £50m investment in the borough, but we hadn' t actually seen so much as a JCB, let alone a Royal visit.

"Then we had a plan for a higher education building in the town centre, and planning permission for a theme park, a tram extension that seemed like it might never be finished, and a social care challenge that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"And today? Our University Centre Rotherham open, with the first students studying. The bus station rebuilt and reopened. Tram train up and running, with more than half a million journeys taken already. Rotherham has been the fastest growing local economy in Yorkshire for over a year now.

"What began as words and commitments two years ago is taking shape, in bricks and mortar and jobs, in opportunities realised, and in a different way of working."

Cllr. Read also discussed the importance of the devolution deal and how Rotherham continues to benefit from being part of the Sheffield city region (SCR).

He said: "Two years ago it was quite common for people to say to me that we shouldn't bother, because we would only lose out to our neighbours anyway. Other places were cynical about whether the deals were really worth doing at all.

"Today every single local authority in the region – every single one - wants to do a devo deal. The TUC, CBI and Institute of Directors issue joint statements on the subject.

"Last week we secured £7m to complete the retail centre at Waverley, and saw announcements that the UK Atomic Energy Agency will bring some of its work to develop fusion technology – the holy grail of limitless energy – to the borough, alongside a potential £10m investment in battery technology in the McLaren supply chain.

"At the same time we are asking the government for up to £40m of investment to support better public transport and walking and cycling as part of the Transforming Cities Fund. It would be the biggest single investment in sustainable transport for years.

"No one seriously says we shouldn't bother any longer. The reality has changed the perception. Just imagine what we could do if we actually got on and implemented the actual deal!

"That's how much things can change in two years. Attitudes shift. Rotherham is finding its way in the world again. By challenging the established order of things."

Rotherham Together Partnership website

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News: Ricardo could be next global name to invest in Rotherham

Ricardo plc, a global strategic engineering and environmental consultancy that specialises in the transport, energy and scarce resources sectors, is progressing plans to open a multimillion pound facility in Rotherham.

Headquarted in Shoreham-by-Sea, and with revenues of £380m in 2017/18, the company is also involved in the niche manufacture and assembly of high-performance products, notably as an engine supplier for McLaren Automotive.

Now Ricardo could join McLaren in Rotherham after a grant was approved by the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority in a bid to secure the inward investment.

A line in the recent combined authority papers shows that a BIF grant for Ricardo of £1,980,000 has been approved for a total investment of £10,858,924. It would be used for research and development and capital expenditure investment to "establish a high voltage battery R&D and production facility" in Rotherham.

53 jobs would be created.

The £52m Business Investment Fund (BIF) invests in businesses that demonstrate growth or the potential to grow. It helps businesses unlock investment in activity that helps their business to grow, become more productive and recruit new employees.

The fund includes a contribution from the Government's Local Growth Fund resources for the Sheffield city region. Funding has previously been approved for job creating projects in Rotherham from McLaren, Parseq, BA Clic Components and United Caps.

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Ricardo is already an international leader in the development of electric vehicle battery systems, and works with some of the world's leading automakers – from mainstream OEMs to EV specialists.

A Tier 1 member of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), Ricardo has previously been awarded a multimillion Euro programme from a premium German automaker for full service battery test and development.

The firm is assisting Volvo Cars with the provision of a large-scale test programme to assess new lithium-ion cells and last year its Performance Products division completed a full EV sports car battery manufacturing concept programme.

Bosses said at the time that the concept's completion was a key milestone in the company's aim to become the niche battery manufacturer of choice for high performance hybrids and EVs.

The project saw Ricardo's manufacturing specialists work in partnership with its hybrid and electric systems engineering group in developing an assembly and manufacturing process for an innovative battery pack based on the exacting requirements of the vehicle manufacturer. In addition, a global supply chain was established that will ultimately be capable of delivering fully assembled and tested battery systems in annual production quantities ranging from hundreds up to multiple thousands.

Mark Barge, managing director of Ricardo Performance Products, said in 2018: "Ricardo has an already well-established capability in the design and engineering of electric and hybrid vehicle battery packs and management systems. As such, it makes complete sense for us to provide a turn-key service – including battery pack manufacture – for performance electric vehicles, in the same way that we manufacture high performance engines, transmissions and drivelines for premium and motorsport applications powered by combustion engines.

"Ricardo has a proven capability in the establishment of complex and high-quality supply chains for high-value, small to medium volume high performance products. The project just completed is a further demonstration of Ricardo's aim to become both the engineering and manufacturing partner of choice for the niche battery systems of high performance EVs and hybrids."

Ricardo and McLaren extended its engine supply agreement earlier this year as the supercar manufacturer progresses a £1.2bn "Track25" business plan which includes the aim of a McLaren sportscar and supercar range that is 100% hybrid by 2025.

Ricardo website

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News: First prototype chassis delivered from new £50m McLaren Rotherham facility

The first prototype carbon fibre MonoCell, the tub that forms the main structure of McLaren's cars, has been shipped from the company's new £50m innovation and production centre in Rotherham to the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey.

Codenamed "PLT-MCTC - 01" - which stands for "Prototype Lightweight Tub, McLaren Composites Technology Centre - 01" - the tub completed its 175-mile journey to the British sportscars and supercar maker's global headquarters from the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC). There it will be involved with stringent crash testing duties.

The MCTC was opened on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) last year by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge alongside HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of Bahrain, as part of McLaren's ambitious plans to increase the rate of innovation of its famous lightweight carbon fibre chassis that are at the heart of all its cars.

The new 75,000 sq ft facility will help the company to innovate and produce lightweight carbon fibre "tubs" that will enable it to deliver the lightest in class products. Monocell and Monocage carbon fibre chassis used in future McLaren models will be sent to the MPC where the company's vehicles have been hand-assembled since 2011.

The MCTC currently employs around 60 people which will rise to over 200 when full production commences in 2020.

This will help the firm's designers and engineers to find further weight savings as the company develops its next generation of vehicles as part of its ambitious Track25 business plan.

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Global sales for McLaren Automotive peaked at 4,806 cars in 2018. With sales up 43.9% on the previous year, this is another record for the company which has increased sales every year since its formation in 2010.

McLaren aims to win the automotive race to lightweight which will become ever more important as cars move towards hybrid powertrains which are generally heavier than their traditional petrol counterparts. All McLaren's sportscars and supercars will be hybrid by 2024.

Wes Jacklin, plant director, MCTC, McLaren Automotive, said: "The delivery of the first prototype carbon fibre tub by the new MCTC to McLaren HQ is not only an exciting day for everyone who has directly worked on the project but also a significant milestone for McLaren Automotive's ambition to be world-beaters in lightweight and composites technology which goes hand-in-hand with our move to hybrid powertrains as part of our Track25 business plan.

"We never innovate for the sake of it; we innovate to continually fulfil our promise to create iconic sportscars. It's increasingly clear that with future heavier powertrain requirements, exploiting innovative lightweighting techniques and technologies is going to be a significant key to unlocking all the handling and agility characteristics that our customers demand."

McLaren Automotive website

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