Parts supplier banking on UK growth

A UK car parts manufacturer is pressing ahead with a £2m expansion plan to help it meet a growing appetite for British-made components.

DPE Automotive is pushing ahead with a £2 million to meet growing demand for UK-made automotive parts.

The company expects to recruit an additional 12 staff in the coming months as the Newton Aycliffe, County Durham firm gears up to capitalise on a buoyant UK car industry.

Managing director Peter Coates led DPE’s management buyout (MBO) from its parent company United Steels limited in October.

The firm makes a wide range of parts including wiring systems and pedal boxes for blue chip names such as Nissan, Gestamp, Magna and Johnson Controls.

Coates said: “We are very busy quoting a lot of new project opportunities in the automotive sector with existing and new clients. It is clear to us that the industry is now white hot and the opportunities for the North-East supply chain are tremendous.

“The UK remains in a position where only 30 per cent of the content of cars manufactured in the UK actually comes from the UK and this is something the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and Automotive Council are keen to change,” he added.

"Both Nissan and JaguarLandRover are looking for UK companies to expand their capacity and capabilties to reduce this gap in the market and increase the UK content of vehicles manufactured.”

Barclays bank has supplied £500,000 of the £2m cash injection to support DPE’s ambitious plans.

“I think the creation this year of the North East Automotive Alliance will help land a lot of opportunities into this region, as long as the North-East supply base has the appetite to expand and broaden its processes and capabilities,” added Coates.

His comments came as Calsonic Kansei officially opened its £800,000 warehouse of 100,000 square feet at Doxford International Technology Park, Sunderland.

Calsonic has supplied every exhaust fitted to Wearside-built Nissan vehicle since the plant opened in 1986.

The new building - Calsonic's fourth in the city - means it now occupies more than half a million square feet across Sunderland.