NAA Member Company Profile: mi Technology Group
mi Technology Group offers test and development support, and the company has developed an enviable reputation for being able to adapt what it does to deliver exactly what each customer wants – even though it caters for customers from sectors as diverse as prestige passenger cars through off-highway machines to aerospace. So how does it manage it?
Part of the answer is the incredible infrastructure. Within a site that covers an area of almost 10 football pitches, once you pass through several layers of security, you enter a laboratory complex that includes engine test cells, environmental chambers, structural test halls, heavy duty chassis dynamometers, robotic test machines and a whole array of advanced instrumentation and test equipment.
A perhaps more significant ingredient is the engineering knowledge of the skilled workforce who know their equipment inside-out and also retain the ability to adapt and design new equipment, enabling the company to respond positively, quickly and effectively to the ever-changing challenges faced by vehicle manufacturers and their supply base.
As technology changes and existing technology is introduced into new environments, as end-users become more discerning and regulations are tightened, so the requirements for test, development and certification become ever more complex. To stay ahead of the curve mi Technology maintains an active engagement with industry-led, government-supported collaborative R&D. We see this as a great way of working with customers, suppliers and academia. These programmes allow time to thoroughly investigate the issues, jointly develop knowledge and trial new solutions so as to be ready when there is a need to support the implementation of new technologies within live new product development programmes.
We have worked with the likes of BMW, IVECO and Renault to develop better, safer, faster ways of developing seat comfort and are now a major supplier of seat testing services to companies throughout the EU and beyond. We have over 10 years’ experience of working on hybrid drivelines, electric vehicles and lightweight structures – all areas of absolute relevance today. Highlights of our current work include:
- The development of a state of the art facility for investigating axle efficiency
- An advanced driveline test facility where the test bed controller emulates the vehicle and plays out CAN messages to make the engine and transmission controllers believe they are in a car hurtling around the Nurburgring
- Development of procedures to test the durability of advanced, high strength aluminium structures to deliver maximum confidence in minimum test duration
- Development of a high efficiency bio-gas powered range-extender engine and demonstration in an extreme low drag vehicle to explore the outer reaches of the vehicle efficiency envelope
- Development of a lightweight, low cost, ultra-safe car for young drivers featuring kinetic energy recovery and innovative driver interface systems.
One of Lancashire’s best kept secrets? Quite possibly. mi Technology continues to build its reputation as a hard-working, highly capable partner for today’s new product development activities whilst developing knowledge and capability to ensure continuing delivery of competitive advantage into the future.
