A £300 million factory which aims to become the "best press-shop in the world" was launched in China today - thanks to Coventry engineering expertise.

The wraps were finally taken off the new automotive parts factory at Dongying, in Shandong province in Northern China, following a £30 million buyout of long-established Canley body parts supplier Covpress.

The factory opening follows a link-up between Shandong industrial giant Yongtai and Telford-based Treadsetters which led to the buyout in 2013 of the West Midlands body panels supplier.

Today, a factory the size of eight football pitches was officially opened at a lavish ceremony in Dongying attended by Chinese and UK Covpress bosses and workers and a range of VIPs and dignitaries, including former Birmingham City Council leader Lord Whitby.

Among the special guests was Stourbridge-based architect Steve Purvis, who told the Post the inside story of the 13-month long transformation of marshland into a state of the art £300 million factory supplying car parts throughout the world.

Mr Purvis, who runs a tiny construction consultancy company with just four staff, said: "I had been doing some work with Covpress and I met the Yongtai chief executive You Xiaoming when I was over there.

"We discussed the project and he asked me to come over to China to look at two sites.

"We chose the one with the best infrastructure and road network. It is close to Dongying Airport and they have built a shipping port here, and Yongtai were already here with their tyre factory.

"The final decision in December 2013 was between Mr You and myself, joint chief executive Kit Halliday from Covpress and Government officials.

"We bought some concept designs out in January and they gave us the green light. I have been coming back and forth to China ever since, offering support and designs.

"This is by far the biggest and most complex project I have ever been involved with. The work ethic of the Chinese is amazing but it is sometimes difficult to get them to change their minds.

"We have had all sorts of issues and there were numerous conference calls through interpreters. The pace of the project and the timescale that they set for the building programme was incredibly tight."

"In the UK, we would still be at the concept stage. The length of time projects take in Britain by comparison is enormous. This will be in full-time production by the end of March. It has been just over a year from concept designs to fully operational."

Mr Purvis said a team of 300 Chinese builders had been working on the factory seven days a week.

The 600,000 sq ft factory will eventually employ 5000 workers supplying parts to car firms all over the world. It will be complemented by new office and research and development sites.

Lawrence Davies, of UK Trade and Investment, told today's opening ceremony celebrations that the Chinese investment in Covpress had transformed the Coventry company.

"The factory was way beyond what I expected both in size and in quality. Mr You, you have made the right time to make an investment in the UK. You have made it at the beginning of reinvestment in the supply chain in the UK. You could not have timed it better."