British supercar maker McLaren is on the hunt for some unexpected recruits for its new £50m innovation and manufacturing facility in Yorkshire in the North of England.
Applicants with experience in a wide variety of sectors from boat-building to the textiles trade and sporting goods industries are being encouraged to apply for the next wave of jobs, apprenticeships and some degree apprenticeships that will help double the workforce at the McLaren Composites Technology Centre (MCTC) to over 200 by the time it is in full production next year.
Those skills are required because materials like carbon fibre start life as a fabric that has to be cut, put into moulds before being treated through a variety of processes before becoming a hard material.
The MCTC aims to be a world-leader in innovating lightweight composite materials.
Lighter, composite materials, together with future powertrain technology, will save vehicle weight, boost performance and provide more energy-efficient supercars.
McLaren has been a pioneer with ultra-lightweight, ultra-strong carbon fibre material for decades and builds every car with a carbon fibre chassis, or ‘tub’, at its core.
The new roles that are set to be phased in next year will all help to make the next generation of McLaren carbon fibre tubs that will then be sent to the company’s McLaren Production Centre, around 170 miles away in Woking, Surrey.
There the rest of the cars – including powertrain, gearbox, body panels, electrical systems, wheels and Pirelli tyres – will be added by hand before being exported to over 32 territories around the world.
McLaren’s ability to tap into the Sheffield region’s extensive materials expertise, skills and universities will help it to innovate quickly and continue to be the lightest in their class.
The target is that the MCTC will deliver £100m of gross value-added benefit to the local economy by 2028 as well as supporting skills development in the region.
Well over 90 per cent of just over 4,800 cars made last year by the firm were exported meaning the new Yorkshire recruits will get to work on some of the most advanced and admired cars in the world.
The announcement of the new roles comes a year to the day since the MCTC, built on the regenerated site of a former opencast coal mine, was officially opened by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain alongside McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt.
“As we’re working with advanced, lightweight materials in new ways that have never been used before on this scale for car production, McLaren is looking for a range of skills you wouldn’t normally associate with the automotive industry.
“We’re also looking to hire apprentices and degree apprentices. The advanced technologies and processes they will be working on could one day be used in other industries to produce lighter, and therefore more efficient, vehicles which will not only help McLaren to continue to innovate, but the UK to become a global leader in composite materials expertise.”
Mike Flewitt, Chief Executive, McLaren Automotive.
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Notes to editors:
A selection of high resolution images accompanying this release is available to download from the McLaren Automotive media site – cars.mclaren.press
About McLaren Automotive:
McLaren Automotive is a creator of luxury, high-performance sportscars and supercars.
Every vehicle is hand-assembled at the McLaren Production Centre (MPC) in Woking, Surrey, England.
Launched in 2010, the company is now the largest part of the McLaren Group.
The company has defined product families: Sports Series, Super Series, Ultimate Series and Motorsport which are retailed through over 80 retailers in more than 30 markets around the world.
McLaren is a pioneer that continuously pushes the boundaries. In 1981, it introduced lightweight and strong carbon fibre chassis into Formula 1 with the McLaren MP4/1. Then in 1993 it designed and built the McLaren F1 road car – the company has not built a car without a carbon fibre chassis since. As part of the Ultimate Series, McLaren was the first to deliver a hybrid hypercar, the McLaren P1™.
Announced at Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2018, the company’s Track25 business plan will see it invest £1.2billion in research and development to deliver 18 new cars or derivatives by the end of 2025.
In 2018, the company launched the 600LT and the first two cars of Track25, the McLaren Speedtail, the next Ultimate Series, and McLaren’s first ever Hyper-GT, and 720S Spider. It also opened a new £50m McLaren Composites Technology Centre in the Sheffield region in the North of England that will see it produce the next generation of lightweight carbon fibre ‘tubs’ that are at the heart of all McLaren cars.
2019 saw McLaren launch the 600LT Spider confirmed as the third car of Track25, with a new GT car announced and the previously-confirmed track-only Senna GTR unveiled.
To support the development, engineering and manufacture of its range of innovative sportscars and supercars, McLaren Automotive partners with world leading companies to provide specialist expertise, technology and solutions. These include Richard Mille, Pirelli, Dell Technologies, Ashurst, AkzoNobel and OnePlus.
McLaren Group:
The McLaren Group is a global leader in luxury automotive and technology and comprises three businesses: Automotive, Racing and Applied Technologies.
Further information:
Roger Ormisher
Vice President, Communications & PR | McLaren North America
Phone: +1 714 501 8137
Email: roger.ormisher@mclaren.com
Laura Tilley
Public Relations Manager | McLaren North America
Phone: +1 765 517 2186
Email: laura.tilley@mclaren.com