AUTOMOTIVE
Automotive suppliers across the world visited Birmingham for LDV’s inaugural supplier awards – an initiative aimed at reinforcing the firm’s relations in the global supply chain.
The suppliers have all recently been awarded contracts by LDV and its Russian parent company GAZ Group to supply parts for the life of the MAXUS range of light commercial vehicles. The range is built in Birmingham, with Russia beginning production in 2010.
Andy Beard, LDV’s purchasing director, said the awards were the rubber stamp of approval for suppliers, providing much needed stability in a volatile automotive industry: “In January 2008 we put in place a partnership supply agreement and our ceremony at the factory was to underline this agreement going forward.”
The suppliers at the awards included Midlands-based companies Caparo, B2 Automotive, Pektron and DANA. Also at the event was Bergstrom, based in Wales, and from international markets, VM Motori, Unisia JKC, OCAP, TRW and ThyssenKrupp.
Michael Straughan, LDV’s operations director, said that since the purchase of LDV by GAZ Group in 2006, it was in a better position to provide stability for both workforce and suppliers. “Alongside LDV, local suppliers are also doing fantastically well from our new position. B2 Automotive for example has gone from a small niche supplier of automotive components to having the opportunity to provide 200,000 parts a year to GAZ Group.”
