Corus invests in additional steel blanking line to help meet 100% supply contract for Mayflower Vehicle Systems
28 Mar 2003
Corus, the international metals company, has announced that it is installing an additional multi-strand blanking line in order to help meet increased demand, which includes a contract to supply Mayflower Vehicle Systems with 100 per cent of its skin panel blank requirements.
Installation of the new line, which represents a £250,000 investment at the company's specialist Automotive Service Centre in Wolverhampton, is expected to be complete by mid April.
The 20-tonne capacity, coil fed blanking line will supply Coventry based Mayflower Vehicle Systems with precision blanks for more than 100 different body parts for a number of major vehicle manufacturers. Blank production will start initially with a single shift, five days a week, allowing Corus to increase volume by over 30 per cent to meet immediate demand. Importantly, the line has the potential for Corus to double existing capacity in order to meet expected future growth in business.
Commenting on the further investment by Corus in its downstream facilities, Alan Hutchinson, General Manager of the Automotive Service Centre, said: 'As well as doubling our existing blanking capacity, the multi-strand blanking line will allow us to process the latest generation of high strength steels enabling us to meet the growing trend by vehicle manufacturers to specify these stronger grades of steel. In addition, the line's modular arrangement means that it is highly flexible and can be reconfigured if required in order to meet changing demand patterns within the industry.'
The £250,000 blanking line is the latest addition to the £30 million already invested by Corus in downstream automotive facilities at the Steelpark site to help meet the increasing demand from the automotive supply chain for tailor welded blanks and full-finish skin panel blanks ready for assembly. The site already boasts a comprehensive line-up of dedicated automotive processing facilities, including a 600-tonne large-bed pressing blanking line. In addition, Autolaser Technologies, the dedicated laser welding business adjacent to the Automotive Centre, was the first facility in Europe to have the capability to manufacture production volumes of advanced, second-generation, non-linear Nd:YAG (Neodymium-Yttrium Aluminium Garnet) laser-welded blanks. These are still being successfully used by BMW MINI and Jaguar.
Other recent downstream investments by Corus include the world's first production-ready laser-welded tubular blank machine commissioned at the Corus Hyfo Competence Centre at the IJmuiden plant in the Netherlands.
Notes to editors:
Corus is an international metals company supplying material solutions for automotive, construction, engineering and packaging industries with manufacturing facilities and sales offices throughout the world.
The company¿s dedicated Automotive Service Centre and specialist laser welding business, Autolaser Technologies, are based in Wednesfield, West Midlands. At the heart of the Automotive Service Centre are several large-bed press blanking lines, including two 600 tonne presses and a 400 tonne press blanking line, that can produce shaped blanks for a variety of parts, including complete body-sides. These benefit from in-line wash and oil units, bundle turning, palletisation and packaging systems. In addition, Corus has developed a unique capability to process full-finish material that allows our lines to produce zero-defect, skin panel blanks.
Ends
Press release and pictures can be downloaded from websites: www.automotivepr.com www.corus-automotive.com and www.newspress.co.uk
Corus Automotive media enquiries:
Rob Palmer +44 1582 763255 rpalmer@automotivepr.com
Marco Ferrari +44 1582 763259 mferrari@automotivepr.com
Corus sales and marketing enquiries:
Lisa Benbow +44 1902 484 053 lisa.benbow@corusgroup.com
