UK Prime Minister David Cameron officially opened Williams’ new
Advanced Engineering facility on 11 July in Grove, Oxfordshire.
The business has been
operating since 2011. Its first project was the Jaguar C-X75, one of the most
sophisticated hybrid supercars made.
The
dedicated 3,800 square metre building, on the same site as the Williams Martini
Racing Formula One team, is the result of £8m of investment by Williams over
the last two years.
The
facility is a state-of-the-art site R&D site that features ground-floor
workshop with Formula One-inspired bays for use with one-off projects or
low-volume production.
Williams
Advanced Engineering’s first project was Jaguar’s C-X75, one of the most sophisticated
hybrid supercars that never made progress. Jaguar Land Rover (see item below) axed C-X75 in
December 2012. Of C-X75, Jaguar design supremo Ian Cullum said: “We really
should be building it, shouldn’t we? I guess I’m probably not meant to say
that.”
Williams
is collaborating with Nissan on its high performance NISMO products, and is the
sole supplier of the batteries that will power the cars competing in Formula E,
the world’s first fully electric racing series
The ‘new’
centre can accommodate up to 250 design engineers and features a number of
confidential rooms where projects can be worked on in complete secrecy – vital
given the nature of Williams Advanced Engineering’s client base.
Williams
Advanced Engineering aims to use the technology, know-how and rapid development
skills honed in Formula One to deliver cutting edge technology solutions to the
automotive, motorsport, transport and energy sectors.
The
company specialises in delivering energy efficient performance for its clients
and does this in four key areas: hybrid power systems and electronics,
dynamics, advanced lightweight materials and cutting edge aerodynamics.
This
expertise in energy efficient technologies first began with the hybridisation
of Formula One cars in 2009, with Williams becoming the only team to develop
its hybrid technologies entirely in house.
The
company is expanding its operations into the energy sector and is currently
working on a project to install Formula One-derived flywheel energy storage
technology on energy grids in the Scottish highlands in a project backed by the
government’s Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Speaking
at the launch of the new facility Cameron said: “Formula One is a world
beating, hi-tech industry and I am very proud that Britain and British engineers
and designers play such a key role within it. Williams opening their Advanced
Engineering facility in Oxfordshire is great news for the local area and a vote
of confidence in our long-term economic plan to back business, create jobs and
secure a better future for Britain.”
Mike
O’Driscoll, Williams group chief executive officer, added: “We are honoured to
have the Prime Minister join us at the start of an extremely exciting time for
Williams Advanced Engineering. This new state-of-the-art building gives our
talented and diverse skills base a home and provides capacity for 250
designers, engineers and technicians. Williams’ diversification programme has
achieved much over the past few years and from here I expect Williams Advanced
Engineering to make rapid progress. Improving energy efficiency is an important
global concern and we are confident that Williams has the unique know-how and
resources to play an important role in tackling this issue.”
Prime
Minister was joined also at the launch by Williams Team Principal Sir Frank
Williams, and Williams Advanced Engineering managing director, Craig Wilson.
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