Established in 1983 and having grown to be one of the most experienced and well-known businesses in the aftermarket tuning industry, Milltek Sport has entered its latest stage of growth with the opening of the Milltek Sport Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Derby.
The creation of the purpose-built facility represents an investment of £2.5 million and took 18 months to complete. It will bring benefits in terms of production efficiency, reduced energy consumption and increased output. Importantly, it will play a significant role in enabling Milltek Sport to meet demand for its renowned performance systems as it develops its global presence.
Milltek Sport estimates a 35% increase in production capability, resulting in reduced lead times and increased availability of “first-to market” systems for some of the most popular and newest performance vehicles, such as the Toyota GR Yaris, BMW M3/M4 G Series and new Audi RS3.
The new facility complements its R&D facility near the Nürburgring in Germany, plus a primary production facility in Ilkeston.
Adjacent to the company’s existing headquarters and warehouse and distribution facility in Pride Park, Derby, the Milltek Sport Advanced Manufacturing Centre is housed in a new 15,000-square-foot building that contains the latest advancements in manufacturing equipment.
Notably, Milltek has added a BLM LT-3 HI-FLEX five-axis twin robot laser, BLM LC5 combo tube and sheet laser machine and a BLM ELECT 102 CNC multi-stack tube 4-inch/102-millimeter capacity bender, which work together to streamline production and provide an even higher standard of finish to every Milltek Sport system.
For example, the five-axis robotic laser produces parts in a radically different way to previous and delivers cuts that would not have been possible with hand processes. The laser cutting also enables advanced processing of raw materials, optimising efficiency and reducing scrap and waste.
The opening of the Milltek Sport Advanced Manufacturing Centre also has created an additional six roles, taking the amount of personnel at the business’s Derbyshire hub to 70. These include a product-design engineer highly skilled in CAD and 3-D modelling, with other new positions including machine operators.
All its exhaust systems are produced from highly durable T304L stainless steel, with all accredited to the ISO9001:2015 standard. According to the company, Milltek Sport offers one of the widest ranges of EC-approved performance exhaust systems on the market, all tested and approved by TUV in Germany.
“As we approach our 40th anniversary in 2023, now is one of the most exciting periods in our history,” said Steve Pound, managing director for Milltek Sport. ‘Demand for our products is growing at a significant rate and we want to strengthen our status as a leader in our segment, while continuing to create first-to-market systems for some of the newest and most talked about performance cars.
“Creating the Milltek Sport Advanced Manufacturing Centre will allow us to grow and diversify, while also optimizing product quality and the speed of manufacturing. It also means we can complete more work in-house with less reliance on external suppliers.”
Pound continued: “It is excellent news for everyone involved with Milltek Sport and illustrates our commitment to providing the very best products and services to our distributors and the ultimate end users of our industry-leading performance exhaust systems.”
