The Morgan, that quintessentially English car, is the epitome of hand-built excellence. While this may be the prevailing image, it is not the full story. The craftsmanship which symbolizes this brand is certainly very much alive and well, but Morgan is also breaking new ground.
The company is now one of the most high-tech automotive manufacturers around, a fact that is reflected in models that range from pedal cars to super-cars — and the hydrogen fuel-cell-powered LIFE car. This diversity is thanks to the company’s adoption of world-class manufacturing technologies.
Many of these technologies are provided through strategic partnerships with suppliers. Typical of this approach is Morgan’s alliance with the precision sheet metal working company Radshape Sheet Metal, with which the company developed its bonded chassis. In fact, Morgan is believed to be one of only four automotive manufacturers in the world to embrace this technology (the others are Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lotus).
Radshape started manufacturing the Aero 8 bonded chassis in 1999, and it produced approximately 200 units in the first year. Over the next 10 years, it manufactured between 1,000 and 1,500 chassis annually. This steady growth in demand proved vital to Radshape at a time when other major automotive customers were not faring so well. The sharp decline in global demand for Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars in 2009 contributed to Radshape losing business worth 1.2 million euros (due to a significant drop in its Tier One and Tier Two order intake). However, the company has since bounced back.
Building partnerships
Radshape has been building production partnerships with niche manufacturers such as Morgan, for which it supplies not only bonded chassis but also panels, grilles, bumpers, cowls, wind screens and side screens. Morgan operations director Steve Morris says: “We rely on our trusted suppliers to recommend technological developments that will improve production and enhance our product. The decision to adopt a bonded chassis is a typical example of how Morgan benefits from its strategic partnerships.”
A specially built production cell at the Radshape factory in Birmingham manufactures this bonded structure for Morgan (it was previously used to produce similar assemblies for the Gibbs Aquada amphibian vehicle). Crucial elements of the cell are a Trumpf TruPunch 5000 and two TruBend 5130 press brakes.
Radshape bonding engineer John Harper says: “We’ve used Trumpf machines right from the start of this project. The chassis is self-jigging; there are no fixtures involved, so we have nothing to rely on but the accuracy of the machines. Manufacturing tolerance on the chassis is 0.25mm, which is even more rigorous than the 0.5mm-standard required by Morgan.
“The TruTops CAD/CAM software was a particularly good investment. It is easy to use and has radically changed how we make the chassis assembly. In the early days, we needed to spend days working out the correct profile. Now, we can do it in an hour or so.”
The 2.5mm-thick aluminium chassis parts are punched, formed on press brakes, then transferred into the bonding cell for ‘wet-build’ and curing in an oven. Radshape managing director Keith Chadwick says: “Originally, we were simply responsible for the chassis up to the bulkhead, but now we also build the front end — and install sound-deadening material. Indeed, over the years, we have suggested around 600 ideas for improvement, more than 65% of which have been taken up.”
Committed to apprenticeships
One major change originated by Radshape was the development of the universal tub to replace left-hand- or right-hand-drive versions. The company also has an on-going commitment to the apprenticeship system — a commitment it shares with Morgan.
Mr Morris was a fully trained sheet metal worker who, having completed his apprenticeship at Morgan, rose through the ranks to become operations director. Radshape’s Mr Chadwick tells a similar story. He served his apprenticeship at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Crewe and, in his 25 years with the company, gained experience in every area of manufacture before taking a top post in purchasing and supply development.
“When I became Radshape’s managing director in 2005, I wanted to turn the clock back to my apprentice days in the 1970s at Rolls Royce. The benefits of such a programme are huge for a customer-centred business such as ours. As a result, even during the period of business decline, Radshape continued to take on apprentices.” He says that two apprentices in particular are a good example of why he thinks the rounded education provided by modern apprenticeship is so important. “Jamie Sproson and Tom Gwynn have learned everything they could on Radshape’s shopfloor, and they recently moved into the sales office as commercial engineers. How can anyone talk about how much a job will cost if they don’t know how to make it? These lads have the experience to look at a drawing, point out — for example — that the design would present a problem and then recommend solutions to resolve it, based on the knowledge they have attained during their apprenticeship. It adds value to the process and gives Radshape the edge on customer service.”
Good ideas
The company is also keen to consider and adopt practices that are common in other sectors. “There are so many good ideas out there, such as bar coding and allocating delivery slots — even the use of Web cams so the customer can see their part being made. I can’t see that being introduced here, but we will certainly consider it if the customer thinks it is important.”
A high level of customer service has proved a key factor in Radshape attracting more business from the prestige automotive sector. The company’s relationship with Bentley now accounts for 35% of its revenues. Typical of this low-volume high-quality business is the stainless-steel and electro-polished grille for the new Bentley Mulsanne (the elements for this interlock like an ‘egg box’). This prestige component is produced on a Trumpf TruLaser 5030 to a manufacturing tolerance of ±0.05mm.
In common with many UK automotive suppliers, Radshape is seeking to diversify to safeguard its business, with rail, aerospace, commercial vehicles and nuclear all playing their part. However, it is another area of the ‘automotive’ sector that is poised to boost growth in the coming years; Radshape is now making its mark in the radio-controlled racing-car market. This initiative came from business development director Chris Dickinson, and it has spawned a thriving new division of the company — RadshapeRC — which produces after-market metal spares on its Trumpf machines for strengthening, modifying and enhancing various brands of RC cars. “We’re the only company making metal parts, and these have proved immensely popular with hobbyists,” says Mr Dickinson. “Within just four months, RadshapeRC-trademarked spare parts were selling to 24 countries across the world, and we just developed our own RC vehicle. We are confident that in five years, this division of Radshape will represent up to 20% of our business.”