Cars manufactured across Europe
are set to be put through their paces in Wales to ensure they can withstand extreme
weather. They will find conditions ranging from the South Pole to the Sahara.
However, this has little to do with the Welsh climate, but everything to do with
a new £4 million state-of-the-art Wind Tunnel owned by Calsonic, the integrated
automotive systems manufacturer.
The facility is part of
a new Environmental and Climatic Test Facility and Advanced Learning Centre
launched yesterday (Tuesday 12 September) by First Secretary Rhodri Morgan and
attended by Mr Haruo Ohno, Chairman of Calsonic-Kansei Corporation.
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The multi-million pound
facility at Calsonic’s Technical Centre in Llanelli, Wales, is one of only
eight in Europe. It will provide Calsonic with a strong competitive edge ensuring
that the company remains at the forefront of technological developments in the
automotive industry.
The Wind Tunnel will enable
Calsonic to test vehicles in all world-wide climatic conditions, in temperatures
ranging from -20ºC to 55ºC, and to alter humidity and wind speed conditions
to any required level. Large vehicle manufacturers throughout Europe are set
to benefit from the technology, including Audi, BMW, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi.
“This facility will
help meet our customers’ expectations of developing systems within their
vehicles,” says Calsonic European President Shinohara San. “It will
provide a foundation stone to support Calsonic’s expanding business in
Europe and improve our ability to win new business.”
“The project has only
been made possible by generous support from the Welsh Development Agency and
the National Assembly of Wales, who have provided financial support and assistance
in establishing the funding route and management of the construction,”
Mr San added.
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By GlobalDataThe new climatic chamber
will significantly improve the plant’s prospects and ability to win further
new business by reducing development time, with engineers undertaking complete
vehicle testing on the same site.
The facility will also allow
Calsonic to offer development facilities to their customers and to meet the
needs of the rapidly changing global automotive industry, including the constantly
reducing lead times demanded by vehicle manufacturers.
The purpose-designed Advanced
Learning Centre – also being opened today, and the first of its type within
the group – will provide facilities to train Calsonic engineers, as well as
engineers from the company’s supply chain, in all aspects of Computer Aided
Engineering (CAE) skills.
Calsonic’s Technical
Centre is the company’s European base for Research and Development. It
develops Cooling and Climate Control systems from concept to final production.
One thousand two hundred people are employed at it’s Llanelli operation,
of which 130 are highly skilled engineers covering all the disciplines required
to support these products. This latest investment will create an additional
ten new jobs and safeguard a further 30 positions.
The investment will underpin
the company’s Llanelli operations, add a new dimension to the research
and development work already being undertaken in Wales and have a beneficial
knock-on effect on the economy of the region.
The creation of the centre
has been achieved with support from West Wales TEC and Carmarthenshire County
Council.
