BAC opens new factory in Speke to build the Mono
Northwest Automotive Alliance member BAC (Briggs Automotive Company) has opened a new factory in Speke in order to increase production of the world’s first road-legal, single-seater production car.
The BAC Mono has been gaining increasing attention over the last two years, posting some of the fastest times on tracks ranging from Top Gear to the North West’s Cholmondeley Pageant of Power.
The new 11,000 sq. ft. facility in Speke Hall Industrial Estate will allow production of the Mono to be ramped up in response to the two-year order book for the vehicle. There are plans to manufacture up to 100 cars a year by 2015, along with the creation of almost 60 local, high-end manufacturing jobs, including apprenticeships. Around 80% of Mono production is exported, to places such as North America and the Far East.
The opening ceremony for the new factory took place this week and marked a return to Merseyside for BAC Technical Director, Neill Briggs, and Design Director Ian Briggs, who both grew up in the area. Neill proudly stated that over the last 40 – 50 years many family members had worked at Halewood, which is located very close to BAC’s new factory, and which is now the home of the Range Rover Evoque.
The Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, has been keen to attract BAC to Merseyside, and has supported the build of the new factory through the Mayoral Investment Fund.
The Northwest Automotive Alliance (NAA) has worked with BAC in the lead up to the relocation, and there is the opportunity for the NAA to provide further support as the company expands, especially in assisting BAC achieve its aim of sourcing more components from the North West region.
Neill Briggs says “The Northwest Automotive Alliance has been extremely helpful over the last two years when we have been planning to expand BAC, opening various doors for us, and now assisting with projects to help us increase production. I see us continuing to work closely with the NAA as we grow.”
Carol Holden, Chief Executive of the NAA, comments “BAC’s new factory and the increase in production of the Mono is more evidence of the thriving automotive, and motorsport, industry in the North West. As the company grows, its supply chain will grow, which is good news for the region and for the UK as a whole.”
BAC’s new factory unit is located right next to the National Trust’s Speke Hall, which provided a perfect backdrop for the Mono and its test driver Oliver Webb. Oliver recently took the Mono around the Wales Rally GB stage at Chirk Castle, and it’s likely that he will be aiming to set the fastest lap at the 2014 Cholmondeley Pageant of Power.
Find out more about the exciting BAC Mono at www.bac-mono.com
