Stadco sees growth from pressings demand
By: John Mortimer, Monday, December 19, 2011, AutomotiveWorld.com
Increased demand for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) products has had a remarkable knock-on effect for suppliers, most notably Stadco Group, which has seen pressing volumes rise significantly. In China alone, JLR retail sales have soared 87%, and demand is boosted further by sales in India and Russia.
Stadco Group is now the UK's largest independent supplier of body-in-white (BIW) pressings, thanks in part to the collapse in 2004 of Mayflower Corporation. Stadco acquired Mayflower's stamping plant at Fort Parkway, West Bromwich, UK from the administrator. Adjacent to Jaguar's Castle Bromwich assembly plant, it is ideally suited to serve Jaguar and Land Rover, as well as BMW and Vauxhall. Through Mayflower's sudden collapse, Stadco acquired a near-pristine facility for a fraction of the investment cost. Now able to stamp large BIW bodyside pressings in high-strength steel or aluminium, Stadco's newly acquired state-of-the-art facilities, together with Mayflower Vehicle Systems' Coventry prototype and production engineering facility, provided a new business edge.
Although Ford - and BMW before it - invested in brand new Schuler and Weingarten press lines, JLR still has to source from independent suppliers.
Early this year, Stadco made another acquisition, buying up the remains of Ogihara Europe, which gave it two fully-automated press lines. Over 30 die sets are new to Stadco.
Stadco's steep rise has been aided also by Tata's acquisition of JLR from Ford. Although Ford - and BMW before it - invested in brand new Schuler and Weingarten press lines, JLR still has to source from independent suppliers. Stadco now has operations in the UK, Germany, Russia and India, serving customers including JLR, Ford, BMW, Vauxhall/GM, Nissan, Toyota and Honda. It is unique in offering full product design capability from styling and concept through to production design and implementation.
In Europe, utilisation of OEM in-house press capacity is running high. This is especially so in Germany, where 2011 passenger car production is expected to reach record levels, thanks to exports of fully built-up vehicles to China. Some 75% of all German car production is exported. Output up to the end of November was 6% year-on-year. German press shops are working to full capacity with many on expensive overtime to cope with healthy order books. Press makers like Schuler have been shipping new lines to the likes of BMW which is re-equipping with faster, smarter presses.
In Europe, utilisation of OEM in-house press capacity is running high. This is especially so in Germany, where 2011 passenger car production is expected to reach record levels, thanks to exports of fully built-up vehicles to China.
New business for Stadco includes work for Jaguar's X152 (or XE), the new compact sports car that will be offered as a coupe or convertible but on a shorter wheelbase than XK (X150). There is also work for the Jaguar XF Sportbrake, XK closures, XF rails and the new GM/Vauxhall van programme.
This year, JLR production is estimated to be 280,000 units compared with 244,000 in 2010, a rise of 26% over 2009. Of the 2011 total, Land Rover could exceed 215,000 units, up 15%, and Jaguar over 65,000 units, up 38%.
Tata has pledged that JLR jobs are safe until 2020 thanks to plans to invest £5bn (US$7.8bn) in new models and upgraded facilities. JLR is also recruiting at all levels - 1,000 at Solihull alone - and it has ambitions to deliver '40 significant product actions over the next two years'. For suppliers like Stadco, this can only be good news.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Automotive World Ltd.
John Mortimer is an engineer with all-round knowledge of the automotive industry. Having reported on automotive industry issues for the last 50 years, he specialises in body-in-white manufacturing, engines and transmissions.
The AutomotiveWorld.com Expert Opinion column is open to automotive industry decision makers and influencers. If you would like to contribute an Expert Opinion piece, please contact editorial@automotiveworld.com
Published on Monday, December 19, 2011
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