Automotive firm SNOP presses ahead with IAMP facility development

A 3,000 tonne metal stamping press, part of French automotive company SNOP’s manufacturing operations, has been delivered to the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP).

SNOP, who is moving to the manufacturing hub and is the first occupier at IAMP, has shipped the press into the region through the Port of Sunderland.

The Transfer Press, and the £12 million investment in this facility will form a key part of its equipment when SNOP begins a phased move to its new site in just a few months.

The press, capable of stamping new generation ultra-high strength steels to support vehicle lightweighting, has been delivered at Port of Sunderland’s Greenwell’s Quay river berth onboard the vessel MARIA in 115 packages with a total weight of 708 tonnes. The vessel loaded in Kobe, Japan in mid-March, and the press parts will be transported to SNOP’s 235,000 sq ft facility at the southernmost edge of the 150 hectare IAMP site. It will take around three months to assemble and commission the press, which stands in a 9m deep pit, that has been engineered by the factory’s construction company Howard Russell.

SNOP UK plant director, David Brander, commented:

“The move to IAMP is strategically important for SNOP UK. For some time, our current facility has limited our capacity, and in moving to a new base, we can maximise our potential with space for expansion.

“The press is a key component of the facility, so today’s delivery of it really does represent the ‘start of the end’ of work on our new factory and we look forward to putting it to use over the coming months and years as we settle into our fantastic new space.”

The company, which designs and manufactures a range of automotive parts, supplying the likes of Peugeot, Audi, Renault, Mercedes, Volkswagen and Seat, as well as Nissan, will take more than 17 acres of the first phase of IAMP, and has invested some £15 million into the new building and a further €15 million into the equipment needed to power it.

It is expected the move will increase the firm’s capacity, taking turnover from 54m Euros to 90m with further space to expand and creating an additional 100-150 jobs, on top of the firm’s existing 250-strong team.

IAMP One covers 150 acres and will deliver 1.6mft² of advanced manufacturing and industrial space. The second phase will provide an additional 2.6mft², creating a scheme of significant size and scale. UK Government has pledged £42 million from the Local Growth Deal through the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) towards infrastructure including new roads, bridges and environmental enhancements to support the development. The Local Growth Deal is supporting major capital investments to promote innovation, economic and skills infrastructure and sustainable transport as part of the North East Growth Deal.

SNOP was the first business to confirm its intention to move to IAMP, in 2018, and expects to have completed a staged move to the new base by August 2020.