Britains fastest growing metals and industrial enterprise, Liberty House, has set its sights on the automotive sector as a vital engine for further expansion of the Group.
And the West Midlands has been firmly established as the design and production hub of this burgeoning business, which now employs nearly 4,500 people in steel and engineering operations across the UK.
Liberty, which is a Tier 1 supplier to major vehicle manufacturers such as JLR, Nissan, Renault and GM, will be demonstrating its growing footprint in the automotive industry during the biggest ever Made in the Midlands exhibition at the Ricoh Arena on Thursday May 25.
A succession of strategic acquisitions over the past 18 months has put Liberty in the driving seat of a manufacturing renaissance the Government wants to bring about through its new Industrial Strategy.
Business minister Nick Hurd highlighted the Groups key role during a visit to Liberty Pressing Solutions newly-acquired 33,000 square metre plant at Canley, Coventry recently. Addressing staff and guests, he said: Libertys investment here is the type of project our Industrial Strategy will look to support, boosting the UKs domestic supply chain and delivering cutting-edge innovation that builds on our status as a world leader when it comes to auto.
Pressing Solutions now forms a major part of Libertys offer both to vehicle manufacturers and the wider auto supply chain, following the expansion of this key division through the acquisition of CovPress at Canley in January.
The Groups enlarged pressings business encompassing advanced operations at both Canley and Willenhall - is now one of the UKs leading manufacturers and suppliers of quality pressings and assemblies, both modular and welded.
Equipment includes transfer, progression and manual presses, ranging from 10 tonnes to 2,500 tonnes, and manufactures pressed and welded assemblies for a wide range of automotive and non-automotive applications. In addition the business has a complete range of supporting processes, such as sheet metal working, robotic assembly, fabrication, painting, laser cutting and CNC folding.
Moreover the business has a highly-experienced in-house design and engineering team which can assist clients with their project from concept to production. Customers also benefit from Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and a Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) together with the company's full industry specific and customer approvals.
In addition the business can offer pressed composite components in partnership with its sister company Liberty Advanced Composites through its press development hall.
Commercial Director of Liberty Pressing Solutions, Alan Turner said the forthcoming Made in the Midlands exhibition with more than 2,000 industry visitors represented an important showcase for the pressings business as it enters a new era.
This is a very exciting time for us, we have an ambitious and creative team and we are very open to new opportunities. Well be appearing at the exhibition for the very first time under the Liberty banner but nevertheless well be showing off the products of well-established Midlands businesses, he said.
Mr Turner added that the show would give Liberty representatives the opportunity also to talk to guests on their A3 stand about the Groups wider automotive business, including the advanced braking technology and control systems at Liberty Vehicle Technologies, an enterprise centred on Leamington Spa. This includes technology used in Formula 1 and other motorsport.
The Liberty Group recently announced plans to invest £10m in the creation of a new Automotive Centre of Excellence next to the current Leamington site.
Pressings and Vehicle Technologies are both part of the Liberty Engineering Group which has an ambitious strategy to reclaim a major chunk of the supply chain serving British-based vehicle manufacturers. Vehicle output reached a 17-year high in 2016 but over 50% of components were imported.
Under their GREENSTEEL strategy, Liberty and sister company, SIMEC, aim to reduce reliance on imports and supply the countrys vehicle manufacturers with more components made locally from British metal using renewable energy and recycled material.
The Groups aim is to create a fully-integrated UK industrial supply chain, from raw metal production through to highly-engineered products such as the Liberty 920e Midlands-made advanced braking systems, which epitomise the auto-sectors evolution towards lighter more efficient components.
Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the Liberty House Group, said: There exists a huge opportunity for Britains automotive supply chain to achieve dynamic growth through becoming more innovative and competitive.
Referring to the recent expansion of the pressings division, through acquiring the Canley operation, he said: By adding quality operations like this to Libertys already thriving network, we aim to play a leading part in the landmark shift going on in the automotive sector and the wider British manufacturing industry.