The
European Design centre (EDC) of SAIC Motor at the MG Birmingham site was officially
opened today. It has more than doubled in size just three years after the
original design studio opened.
The
latest investment from SAIC Motor, MG's parent company, follows one of over
£500 million invested in the development of new models for Europe.
Staff in the newly expanded
EDC are already working on a range of future MG models, including the new MG3.
The latest investment allows the studio, now the fifth largest in Britain, to
carry out even more advanced design work. The original studio was part of a £5
million investment programme.
An advanced five-axis
milling machine, which allows models in clay or hard materials to be produced
within 36 hours, is a major part of the latest upgrade and spending on
sophisticated equipment. It also includes a visualisation suite where life-size
images of models can be projected onto a giant screen that has 2D and 3D
capability.
A second design plate, an
extremely accurate steel plate set to fine tolerances, has been installed. This
allows highly-skilled clay modellers to work on future generations of MG
cars.
More than 160 designers at
two studios – in Shanghai and Birmingham – come under the leadership of Anthony
Williams-Kenny, SAIC's head of global design; he flew in from China for the
opening. Canadian-born Martin Uhlarik heads the European Design Centre in
Birmingham.
The designers work closely
with the 300 professional engineers at the adjoining SAIC UK Technical Centre.
More than 400 people are employed at the MG Birmingham site where the new MG3
will roll off the assembly line later this year.
This model will become the
second modern MG to come out of the Birmingham factory following the MG6 GT
fastback and the Magnette sport saloon range of petrol and diesel models.
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