The commissioning of a ‘state of the art’ £500,000 Gleason GP300ES gear-shaping machine at Ricardo’s Shoreham Technical Centre (www.ricardo.com) marks a key milestone in an investment programme aimed at consolidating the company’s position as the transmission design and manufacturing partner of choice for world-wide premium motor-sport and super-car customers.

The technically advanced machine incorporates a totally new shaping head that features a backlash-free direct-drive for the cutter spindle.

Moreover, with appropriate software, the additional cutter motion required for producing helical gears can be super-imposed electronically on the spindle rotation, allowing the machine to produce advanced high-performance transmission systems.

Ricardo’s investment in its manufacturing capability extends much further than the introduction of new machines and production equipment.

With over 10,000 ‘process steps’ active within the manufacturing operation at any one time, the company has also invested in new planning and scheduling software, which was introduced at the start of the year.

These and other investments aim to drive efficiency and quality benefits for the company’s advanced-transmission customers, which include Porsche, BMW, Aston Martin, Bugatti, McLaren, Bentley and Ford.

Mark Barge, Ricardo’s performance products managing director, said: “Ricardo is one of the few premium transmission manufacturers that can offer a fully integrated manufacturing and engineering capability, from concept design to in-house manufacture and heat treatment.

"Through our continued investments we are ensuring that our facilities and engineering capability continue to meet and exceed the most exacting standards required by our global customers both today and into the future.”