£500,000 funding boost for Brandauer's clean transport tech

By Nicky Godding

12 November 2020

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A Midlands precision stamping specialist is set to play a significant role in the development of cleaner mobility.

Brandauer has been selected to be part of a new consortium led by tech company Saietta, which has won an Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) grant to fast-track production on new electric propulsion motors for use in all vehicles from scooters through to buses.

The unique Axial Flux Traction technology delivers class-leading performance at the price points required for mass market adoption and marks a step-change in how the sector can make electric vehicles go faster for longer.

Production specialists at the Birmingham-based firm will use their thin gauge stamping and progression toolmaking expertise to produce busbars and laminations for use in the state-of-the-art motors.

The nomination secures £500,000 of R&D funding for Brandauer, with the potential to generate up to £1 million of new sales in the first twelve months following project completion and more revenues to follow as manufacturing volumes increase.

Rowan Crozier CEO of Brandauer, said: “Providing cleaner transport is a major global opportunity for the UK and we are delighted to be part of the Saietta consortium to help bring important new technologies to market.

“We are heavily involved in providing specialist busbars and laminates to a number of clients in the electrification field and, this latest project, will give us the perfect platform to use our ‘manufacturing to microns’ expertise to make a major difference in supporting the development of greener vehicles.”

He continued: “Our world class design capabilities and maximum material utilisation approach during the stamping process means we can deliver performance whilst contributing to reduce the weight and cost of the laminations and busbars.”

The APC research contract will enable Saietta to ramp up production capacity to 150,000 motors per annum and trigger the hiring of 150-250 highly skilled engineers in the first round of recruitment.

Saietta will work closely with Brandauer and The AEV Group, a specialist manufacturer of electrical insulating resins, varnishes and compounds, on refining the process for core motor component manufacturing and motor assembly, delivering a cost effective, highly automated production assembly process.

Wicher Kist, Chief Executive Officer Saietta Group, added: “This is a significant day for Saietta. By quickly scaling up operations we can fully capitalise on the commercial opportunity that we know exists.

“Based on the conversations we’ve had, and the projects we’re already involved with, we know that the mass production of our technology will allow us to power a new generation of electric vehicles, in markets around the world, bringing a new era of mobility.”

Established in 1862, Brandauer produces millions of high tolerance metal pressings and stampings every week for customers in the plumbing, automotive, domestic products, electrical, medical and renewables sectors.

Most of the products it makes are invisible to the user, but are fundamental in making many everyday items work effectively. These include electrical connectors that are fitted in 90% of the world’s kettles and edge connectors for the dimming of rear-view mirrors in 50% of modern-day cars. New product development is central to the Queen’s Award-winning firm’s approach and more than £1 million is spent every year on new machinery and R&D to ensure it remains at the forefront of progression tooling, tool transfers and stamping.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.