Leading International Businesses Take Up Residency at MIRA Technology Park

NUNEATON, England, November 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills to open the first building completed at the site

MIRA Technology Park, the 1.75 million sq. ft. technology park development granted Enterprise Zone status in August last year, has reached the first milestone in its aim to become Europe's most advanced independent transport technology facility - with the successful completion of its Control Centre.

The 43,000ft² building, which represents £6 million of investment and is being opened today by the Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, is the first new building completed since being granted Enterprise Zone status.  MIRA Technology Park has already attracted a number of high profile international businesses. Bosch Engineering, Lockheed Martin, Ashok Leyland, Norgren and Triumph Motorcycles have all have taken secure facilities on the 830 acre site and are being announced at the opening ceremony today.

Peter Fouqet, Bosch UK President comments; "The Bosch Group will be expanding their engineering services to the Midlands, providing customised solutions and technical support to vehicle manufacturers. Bosch offers bespoke engineering solutions for a wide range of customer applications, from global to niche brands in sectors as diverse as automotive, agriculture, construction, marine and rail. Bosch engineers located in the Midlands will help transfer knowledge, skills and expertise, to provide a dedicated Bosch engineering service solution for customer research and development projects in the UK."

Terry Spall, Commercial Director, MIRA Technology Park Ltd, adds; "When we first announced the development of the MIRA Technology Park in October 2010 we, and all parties involved, were very clear about its potential to create jobs and attract business investment to the region. We are delighted to be able to now announce the arrival of these high calibre businesses who, by being based here at the Technology Park, are literally placing themselves in the geographic heartland of the UK's automotive industry."

Since 2010 a total of 188 technology related jobs have been created as a result of the development and 145 jobs are due to be created in 2013. The aim is to create up to 2,000 jobs in the Technology Park's first ten years (up to 2020) and continue to build on the success of the Control Centre. Planning application for the second development, a four store office building, has already been approved.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "The opening of MIRA's Technology Park is excellent news for the Midlands. It has the potential to become Europe's largest independent transport research and development (R&D) cluster. Enterprise Zone status has helped MIRA to attract high profile names in industry to use the Technology Park as an engineering base.

"I'm determined to support investment in R&D because it is central to ensuring we can attract advanced manufacturing companies and create more highly skilled jobs here in the UK."

Paul Cleaver, President of Norgren, one of the businesses that will be based at the Control Centre, comments; "Our latest development work requires unique testing capabilities in which MIRA specialises, making it the ideal base as we continually seek to deliver Engineering Advantage for our global customer base. We will continue to tap into the simulation capability and workshop facilities MIRA offers, as we embark on an exciting project involving fuel efficiency for heavy commercial vehicles. This is research and development for technology that doesn't exist today, but has huge potential in the near future."

MIRA has earned an enviable reputation since it was formed in 1946 as the government funded Motor Industry Research Association. The MIRA business is now known for being a comprehensive transport engineering solutions provider to the automotive and defence industries as well as engineering smart solutions for future transport technologies.

Dr Geoff Davis, Business Development Director, MIRA Ltd concludes: "As our track record over the past 3 years has shown we are an increasingly successful business with ambitious plans. Those plans include becoming Europe's most advanced independent transport technology solutions provider, and the MIRA Technology Park is an integral part of those plans."

Notes to Editors

Further information on schemes in place at MIRA Technology Park:

• New graduate scheme started at MIRA last year, first intake 12 with a further 10 to be recruited next year
• New apprenticeship scheme started last year, first intake 8 with a further round of recruitment planned for next year for a further 5 places
• MIRA is also providing places for students from the Midlands Studio School studying engineering and business

About MIRA

MIRA Ltd is a world-leader in advanced engineering, research and product testing. Over the past 65 years it has grown into a truly international organisation with facilities located around the world. MIRA's work spans the Automotive, Defence, Aerospace and Rail industries and includes the development of ground-breaking low carbon vehicle technologies.

About Norgren

A world leader in pneumatic motion and fluid control technologies, Norgren works closely with customers to gain a deeper understanding of their engineering needs, and then connects its people, products and expertise to give their equipment and their business a clear advantage.  Norgren's reputation rests on a world-class portfolio of high performance products, the innovation and technical expertise of its 6000-plus people, and an ability to deliver exceptional local service. A subsidiary of the £2.13 billion turnover engineering group IMI PLC, Norgren has a sales and service network in 75 countries, technical centres in the USA, Germany, UK and China, and manufacturing facilities around the world. http://www.norgren.com