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February 2012

Autocraft awarded Ford Sigma and Zetec remanufactured engine contracts

In production with JLR's Lion V6 & V8 remanufactured engine ranges

Bentley Continental Interior Fascia Machining

 

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Autocraft IN PRODUCTION WITH Jaguar Land Rover’s Lion V6 & V8 remanufactured engine rangeS

 

From order placement to production of remanufactured engines in just 12 weeks, Autocraft Drivetrain Solutions in Grantham, Lincolnshire has assisted Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in supplying an additional 1,500 new vehicles per annum to the global market.

The decision to move to remanufactured engines supplied by Autocraft for its warranty replacements was made in order to free up capacity at the very busy Ford Dagenham Engine Plant, enabling all new Lion V6 engines to be placed into new vehicles.  At the same time, Autocraft assisted JLR with the phase out and remanufacture of the Lion V8 3.6L engine.

The 2.7 litre Lion V6 and 3.6 litre Lion V8 diesel engines, typically used in Jaguar XK and XJ, Discovery 3, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models, are now being exclusively supported for JLR by Autocraft, who are now producing up to 16 Lion engines per day. 

The contract, awarded in late 2010, required a very challenging leadtime of 12 weeks to achieve finalisation of the engine specification and customer sign-off, recruitment of new staff, installation of a new assembly area at the Grantham factory, production of test engines and full PPAP sign-off which is required from the fully accredited TS16949 supplier.

Commercial Director Mike Hague-Morgan commented “We are extremely pleased to be awarded such a significant contract from Jaguar Land Rover.  This is the first major remanufactured engine contract placed by JLR since their acquisition by TATA and departure from Ford.  Even more significant is that these engines were designed and produced by Ford, and therefore Autocraft have worked in close partnership with both Ford and JLR to bring these remanufactured engine ranges into production in Grantham.  As a result of this switch to remanufactured engines for the aftermarket, JLR have now been able to dedicate all of their new diesel engines produced at Dagenham into new vehicles, enabling them to sell an additional 1,500 vehicles per annum.”

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Autocraft AWARDED FORD SIGMA AND ZETEC REMANUFACTURED ENGINE CONTRACTS

 

Following a successful bid to a market test by Ford Customer Services Division Europe (FCSD E), Autocraft Drivetrain Solutions are delighted to have been awarded the high volume Sigma and Zetec petrol engine remanufacturing programs.  Sigma and Zetec petrol engines are used in most Ford European vehicle ranges. 

Engineering manager, Alan Doughty commented “the key reason behind being awarded this contract was the capability to move quickly and install new facilities in order to be in production in a very short time.”

Commercial Director, Mike Hague-Morgan added “we are extremely pleased to be an exclusive supplier of these petrol engines to FCSD E and to further enhance our offering of remanufactured engines to the Ford dealer network. The Sigma engine family is Ford’s most difficult engine range to remanufacture in respect of variety and complexity, and we thank Ford for entrusting Autocraft to manage these issues as their Partner.”

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AUTOCRAFT TEAMS UP WITH CASTINGS SUPPLIER TO LAUNCH BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT Interior Fascia MACHINING PROGRAMME

 

Autocraft Drivetrain Solutions in Grantham, Lincolnshire are pleased to announce a successful launch of the machining of Interior Fascias fitted to the Bentley Continental GT vehicle, working in partnership with JVM Castings in Worcester, UK.  JVM led the project and provided the high quality pressure die castings with Autocraft performing the machining and assembly operations. 

The contract was awarded following an emergency resource, demonstrating Autocraft’s ability to move quickly and support Bentley when their former supplier in Switzerland announced its closure.

Commercial Director, Mike Hague-Morgan commented “we were approached by JVM Castings to provide 4-axis machining and to assemble the aluminium castings.  The leadtime between order placement and production was only 4 weeks.  We worked closely with JVM Castings and also with fixturing supplier Hyfore Engineering to achieve this very tight deadline.“

The Interior Fascias are machined on the Niigata Horizontal Machining Centre in Autocraft’s Grantham facility.  A tombstone fixture set-up enables both left and right interior fascia parts to be machined in batches, with two model variants.  The 4-axis capability of the HMC ensures one set-up per part, critical for maintaining tolerances on these thin and flexible components.

Managing Director Steve Harris commented “following this successful launch we are pleased to be working with JVM and we are already building on the success of this project by working with them on additional new projects. Working in a reciprocal basis with companies that complement each other is an increasingly powerful way to develop business and succeed in a competitive market such as ours.”

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