Expert Tooling & Automation has revealed details of a major expansion into China so it can exploit opportunities in the Electric Vehicle (EV) sector.
The Coventry-based manufacturer, which works with the likes of Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin, plans to open a new £5m, 200,000 sq ft plant which will double the size of the company.
To facilitate the expansion, ETA has formed a partnership - Expert Automation Technology Co Ltd - with Chinese company Star Eagle Global and established the new base in Hefei, eastern China.
The new business, which will employ around 200 people, will see the partners pool their expertise in aluminium and composite vehicle assembly, battery pack assembly, powertrain and final assembly to capitalise on the rapidly growing EV sector in China.
ETA managing director and founder Angelo Luciano said: "This is the culmination of in excess of 12 months of negotiations and between the companies and regional government in China.
"Our partners have significant interests in automotive equipment manufacturers across the world that fits extremely well with Expert’s highly-skilled and qualified workforce and our expertise and experience in key areas of the industry.
"It will allow the company to capitalise on the largest and fastest growing automotive market in the world with our knowledge and experience, all of which will be in high demand in the ever increasing EV sector in China.”
The expansion follows ETA’s £10m investment in a new state-of-the-art headquarters at Lyons Park in Coventry.
Mr Luciano added that the next few years would be very exciting for the business as it looked to position itself as the UK’s largest automotive equipment manufacturer.