NAA member company news: BAC moves to new Liverpool factory
Liverpool’s automotive industry is receiving a major boost with the announcement that the world’s first road-legal, single-seater production car is to be manufactured in the city.
The Mayor of Liverpool has completed a deal with motoring pioneers Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) to move production of its ground breaking, award-winning BAC Mono car to the city. It is set to create almost 60 local, high-end manufacturing jobs by 2014 (including apprenticeships), as well as new regional supply chain opportunities. In a major coup for Liverpool, the deal will see Speke Hall Industrial Estate in South Liverpool become the new home for the specialist, high-performance vehicle.
BAC Mono’s relocation to Liverpool has been made possible by support from the city in facilitating the move and identifying a site. It will further strengthen the city region’s reputation in automotive production, following the success of Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant. BAC Mono has earned a string of accolades, including the coveted BBC Top Gear ‘Stig’s Car of the Year’ award and gained further national recognition when it featured on the show on Sunday 7 July. The BAC Mono will also serve as an ambassador for Liverpool all over the world, with the city brand emblazoned on the car’s body as it takes part in high profile international racing events.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “This is great news for Liverpool. BAC is an ambitious, visionary company, and its desire to relocate to our city speaks volumes for our business offer. The support we have provided will help create new jobs and apprenticeships and further build our reputation as a city of automotive excellence. The Jaguar Land Rover plant in Halewood has been a real success story for our city in creating jobs in commercial car production – I’m confident that this deal with BAC will prove to be another success, in creating opportunities at the specialist end of the market. BAC Mono is a prestigious brand, and it’s fantastic that motoring and racing enthusiasts alike will know that a car which is turning heads wherever it goes – whether on the road or track – is made in Liverpool.”
BAC expects its new production site in Speke to be up-and-running by the autumn, and projects that it will be producing more than 100 cars a year by 2015. The company is now looking to recruit to its team, with a mixture of jobs on offer for local people. There are employment opportunities for people with experience of working on high-performance and new model launch cars, as well as apprenticeship opportunities. For more information and to apply, please contact BAC at the following address – jobs@bac-mono.com. BAC Ltd is also looking to source components locally and is in talks with a number of suppliers from the region over potential opportunities.
Managing Director at BAC Ltd, Neill Briggs, said: “We are thrilled at our relocation to Liverpool. The city has a rich history in the motor industry and we look forward to adding our own chapter to this success story. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mayor Anderson and his team for their support. Liverpool is a great place to do business, and with the wealth of highly skilled individuals in the region we believe we are perfectly positioned to take the company to the next level. This expansion and job creation will allow us to meet sales demand around the world, and build on the fantastic interest Mono has received since it was launched. We are all extremely proud to say that ‘Mono is built in Liverpool’”
New Top Gear run rewrites programme’s legendary leaderboard
Sunday 7 July’s edition of BBC Top Gear saw the Stig take the wheel of the BAC Mono for the first time on national TV. The result completely reshaped the programme’s legendary leaderboard, with Mono now second overall to the Pagani Huayra. With a lap time of just 1 minute 14.3 seconds the BAC supercar demonstrated its prowess, beating cars many times its price.
Commented Neil Briggs; “What a result – a very proud achievement for our home-grown machine versus those of established motor manufacturers the world over. It is a credit to our suppliers and everyone who has supported this project since its inception.”
For further information on BAC and the mighty Mono log onto www.bac-mono.com.
Founded by brothers Neill and Ian Briggs, Briggs Automotive Company (BAC) is a fledgling company, based in Cheshire. Their concept of creating a car that could be seen in the pits at a race track or on a British country lane has seen the company quickly gaining a huge reputation in the motoring world, leading to a major increase in demand for the niche vehicle.
The company currently fulfils orders from a sub-let industrial unit in Cheshire, and needs to move to a dedicated production base to meet demand and grow the business. The support the city council has offered the company means it can now relocate, and make Liverpool its new home.
The Briggs brothers vision for the Mono was to create a road car with the same level of intuitive direct control as a Formula racing car. Primarily aimed at individuals with an enthusiasm for motorsport, the car, while road-legal, is primarily aimed at the track-day market.
Taking the influences of classic Formula car shapes, the hi-tech vehicle features a high-strength carbon fibre composite construction over a steel chassis. It also boasts the sculpted, sleek, forms and lines of a F-22 Raptor jet fighter and the design slenderness of high-powered motor bikes. It is powered by a 2.3 litre, 285bhp four-cylinder power plant, with the engine mounted longitudinally to optimise the centralised balance of the car.
BAC Ltd has adopted a policy of sourcing British components for its vehicle, with 97% of parts British manufactured and sourced regionally, wherever possible.
In awarding the BAC Mono the coveted ‘Stig’s Car Of The Year’ Award, Top Gear said: “This single-seater, dreamt up by brothers Neill and Ian Briggs, is a sculpture of engineering, a miniature masterpiece of exposed carbon fibre and metal… this is the smartest bit of British sports-car design since the Ariel Atom 15 years ago.”
BAC Ltd’s relocation to Liverpool supports the South Liverpool International Gateway Strategic Regeneration Framework (SRF), an ambitious, 20-year plan to drive forward the economic regeneration of the area. It also provides the catalyst to encourage further businesses linked with the automotive supply chain to consider a relocation to the Speke area.
