Factory is ‘bridging the valley of death’ for tech developers

The Proving Factory initiative was launched by Business Secretary Vince Cable to transform innovative prototypes into industrial scale products for the low-carbon automotive sector.

It is backed by £13m in Government funding and £2m from Tata Steel.

The factory has two facilities - a manufacturing centre in Rotherham and an assembly facility in Coventry.

Robert Last, director, said the initiative is proving “very successful” in the market place.

He added: “It’s about taking green technologies through design for manufacture and being able to industrialise technologies and introduce them to original equipment manufacturers who then build them into their vehicles.”

The Rotherham facility will have four machines up and running by Christmas.

Mr Last said British inventions and concepts are fully tested and quality assured in the proving process.

He added that the “valley of death” can be treacherous to many prototypes because developers have found it difficult to industrialise their technology.

Mr Last told The Yorkshire Post: “An original equipment manufacturer like Jaguar Land Rover or Nissan is not going to be interested in five handmade prototypes; they want 10,000.”

UK companies including Magnomatics, Bladon Jets and Libralato Engines are taking part in the initiative.

The factory has 50 employees across the two sites and 13 apprentices in Rotherham.

At the launch, Tata Steel said the project “will not only benefit the small companies which have developed technologies, but allow Tata Steel to provide its expertise in speciality steels and manufacturing, as well as access to vital supply chains”.