MANUFACTURING
Leadership – ElringKlinger general manager Stephen Braithwaite has worked at the Redcar manufacturing firm for 18 years .
DRIVING THE FUTURE
Not many people find themselves driving directly past car parts firm ElringKlinger ( Great Britain ) ( EKGB ).
Its location – tucked away in a cul-de-sac on Redcar ’ s Kirkleatham Business Park – means it ’ s something of a hidden industrial gem .
However , anyone who navigates their way down the Parkway can ’ t help but notice the lonely wind turbine in a field close by – a turbine constructed for EKGB as part of a commitment to produce green energy for its plant .
EKGB is part of the Germanheadquartered ElringKlinger AG . Employing just short of 200 people , the plant supplies gaskets and shielding components to the automotive industry .
Its main customers are Ford , JLR , BMW and Perkins , with next year marking the 60th anniversary of EKGB ’ s presence on Teesside .
EKGB sales for 2022 were just under £ 23m and the plan for 2023 is around the same .
Exports account for around 40 per cent , meaning that most of its sales are dependent on the performance of the UK car market .
Parts – ElringKlinger manufactures gaskets and shielding components for the automotive industry from its Redcar factory , which employs almost 200 people .
Before Covid , the organisation employed almost 400 people , but with the decline in UK car manufacturing from around 1.5m units in 2019 to around 775,000 in 2022 , the impact has seen a reduction in the number of employees .
The parts supplied by EKGB are primarily for use in internal combustion engines , so as the UK moves towards the deadline for phasing out sales of these cars , EKGB will see further declines in sales of its current core business .
However , there are plenty of reasons to be confident about the future .
Stephen Braithwaite has worked at EKGB for 18 years in several specialist roles before becoming general manager in June 2022 .
He told Tees Business : “ EKGB is at a very important milestone in its business life cycle .
“ The movement away from internal combustion engine components to those for electric vehicles is the key focus for the future .
“ The recent news that JLR ’ s owner Tata will build a giga-factory in the UK offers great opportunities for breaking into this market , while the work Nissan is doing in Sunderland with their partners is another reason to be optimistic .
“ As the battery is the most significant and costly component in EVs , it is essential that battery plants are grown in the UK . Without them , UK car manufacturing becomes potentially unsustainable .”
The other recent impactor on the
New direction for ElringKlinger ( Great Britain )
business was Brexit , although Stephen says this was not as significant as was originally feared .
He said : “ We spent a lot of time planning for Brexit and making sure that we would be compliant with the new requirements on importing our raw material and exporting our finished goods .
“ Still , we were very nervous coming back after the Christmas break following the deal made by the government .
“ We didn ’ t know for sure what would happen . But because we had teamed up with some good partners , especially in the North-East Chambers of Commerce , to guide us through the process , it meant the actual impact on the flow of goods between EKGB and the EU was minimal .
“ However , the cost effect to the business of these new requirements was significant and remains so .”
Regarding the next steps for the business , Stephen is optimistic .
He said : “ There are many opportunities for us and , most importantly , we have the backing of our board in Germany .
“ They are very keen to secure a future for the Redcar facility with a vision that has us manufacturing components for EV generation vehicles .
“ We have a highly-skilled workforce and many of the skills are transferrable to the new type of product that EKGB will be making in the future .
“ Our aim is to at least celebrate 100 years doing business on Teesside and my goal is to make sure that we set off on that track .”
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