April / May 2016
Driving the future
A large group turned out for the visit to the new JLR engine plant near Wolverhampton
A large group of Diecasting Society Members had the privilege of visiting the new Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Centre ( EMC ) on the i54 Business Park , near Wolverhampton , on 24th February 2016 . Participants were taken on a guided tour of the Machining Hall and Diesel Assembly Hall where they viewed Jaguar Land Rover ’ s extensive automated capabilities and were given a fascinating insight into the new Ingenium engine . The EMC represents a £ 500 million investment by Jaguar Land
Rover in a brand new facility producing in-house engines for the first time in a generation . Designed , engineered and manufactured in the UK , the engines are now being supplied to all three advanced UK vehicle manufacturing facilities - Halewood , Castle Bromwich and Solihull - for use in the Jaguar XE and XF , Discovery Sport and Evoque . The production of inhouse engines will support the expansion of the UK supply chain , providing critical mass for inward investment . The extensive and modern site
is the size of 14 football pitches and work is already underway on doubling the site thanks to a further significant investment programme . The building itself is particularly SMART . Over 21,000 rooftop photovoltaic solar arrays have the capacity to produce up to 30 % of the site ’ s energy , enough to power 1,600 homes . Climate control is vital and is kept at 18 degrees centigrade thanks in part to the Victorian principal of south facing windows letting in maximum light but less heat . Light is particularly noticeable in the production areas where workers have both space and natural daylight for ambient working conditions . The Ingenium engine has 245 unique parts in the diesel version . It is both fuel-efficient and meets the low emission requirement of NCAP 6B . Produced in aluminium , the head and block are 20kg lighter than previous engines and both the liners and the block are cast for durability . Nemak cast the head and block and the crank is forged in steel by CIE . Arriving in super cubed form , Jaguar Land Rover then machines the components in its high-tech machining facility .
With less than fifty employees in the machining hall ( which is the size of nearly five football pitches ), the facility is extremely automated . For example , there are 32 processes the engine block goes through without being touched by human hand . All swarf and suds are removed from the machines through overhead pipes - the objective is a commitment to the environment and future sustainability . The suds are cleaned and re-used . Diecasting Society members toured the block , head and crank line before moving on to the diesel assembly hall . There are of course more workers in the assembly hall of which individuals are trained on five different stations , remaining on each one for five weeks before moving to another station . The visit left members impressed by the capabilities of man and machine when working in harmony and inspired for the future after witnessing a positive working environment and an impressive investment programme . This is just one of a range of highly sought after visit programmes planned by the Diecasting Society . To ensure you are included in future ones email : dcs @ icme . org . uk
DIARY
20th May 2016 Midlands Golf Day Barlaston Golf Club
8 July 2016 Northern Golf Day Nelson Golf Club
15 July 2016 Social Evening Hall Green Dogs
2nd September 2016 National Golf Day Moor Hall Golf Club
4 October 2016 Visit to Montupet Ltd & Ryobi Northern Ireland
Further details about all events from DCS 0121 601 6979 dcs @ icme . org . uk www . dcsoc . org . uk
New face to drive targets
The largest aluminium pressure diecasting manufacturer in the UK ha s appointed a new group sales manager to help meet the company ’ s growth targets over the coming years . In his new role at Midlandsbased JVM Castings , Bob Freeman will be responsible for enhancing the development of the company throughout its existing customer base , ensuring current clients receive the maximum value and support as well as seeking opportunities across new markets . Although he has only joined the company recently , Freeman has maintained a relationship with DCS member company JVM Castings since the beginning of his career at Jaguar , and before that his father had worked with previous generations of JVM ’ s owners , both as a buyer and supplier . The company itself has a rich history in the castings industry dating back to 1925 , when Joseph Vernon Murcott first established the business . The company ’ s strong family values are among the many factors that appealed to Freeman in taking on his new role . “ It seemed like a very natural progression for me to join the company since we ’ ve been in contact for over two decades , so
I ’ m fully versed in their business , either directly with them as a supplier to me or vice versa ,” he said . “ My focus is on making sure we support the needs of all our customers and promote the range of high tech solutions we can offer , and I ’ m very much looking forward to helping JVM Castings meet their goals for 2016 and beyond .” Feeman brings 32 years of experience in the castings and automotive industries with him to JVM Castings , most recently with sales and purchase management roles at King Automotive Systems Ltd and Sarginsons Industries Plc . JVM Castings is an award-winning designer and manufacturer of high quality aluminium diecastings with sites in Tamworth and Worcester . Clients include Jaguar Land Rover , BMW and Ford .
Cast Metal & Diecasting Times April / May 2016