Vauxhall Motors celebrates the re-introduction of vehicle and manufacturing engineering to the UK with the opening of its new Engineering Centre at Millbrook, Bedfordshire. 

Nick Reilly, Vauxhall chairman and managing director, will be joined by Alan Johnson MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Frank Colvin, vice president of engineering, General Motors Europe, to officially open the new Centre at the Millbrook Technology Park.

 The Vauxhall Engineering Centre brings together a wealth of expertise under one roof. The £5m Centre is home to more than 70 international employees from diverse areas including worldwide purchasing, aftersales and vehicle product and process engineering.

 Early results will be seen in the new panel van being delivered jointly by Vauxhall and Renault to be introduced in Spring 2001. The Centre will make a significant contribution to the engineering of future, light commercial and recreational vehicles for sale in the international markets.

Mr Colvin stated that the Vauxhall Centre will provide technical support including the engineering design of products and processes, as well as quality assurance, validation work and testing components. Working as a regional engineering centre, the new Vauxhall facility is part of General Motors' global engineering enterprise and shares engineering work with Opel's International Technical Development Centre in Rüsselsheim, Germany, as well as GM engineering centres in other regions.

Mr Reilly said: "This is an important new facility for Vauxhall and General Motors Europe. It is a centre of expertise that will make a significant contribution to the engineering of current and future light commercial and recreational vehicles." Mr Johnson added: "This demonstrates how important it is for the UK not only to maintain and develop its manufacturing and assembly base, but also the key role that research and development plays in underpinning that base and improving our competitiveness and productivity."

This £5 million investment further underpins Vauxhall's commitment to the UK, coming two weeks after the company announced £189 million of investment in its UK production sites.

Along with specially invited representatives of the local community, Mr Johnson and Mr Colvin will tour the centre and view all of the facilities that the Millbrook Technology Park has to offer. These include the Emissions Testing Laboratory and the vehicle test circuits that are used by manufacturers throughout Europe and beyond.

(May 24, 2000)