MIRA Technology Park (MTP), a leading UK Enterprise Zone, was presented with a Queen’s Award (in the international trade category) at the end of last month by the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire (and the Vice Lord Lieutenant).

During the event, the Lord Lieutenant, Horiba president and COO Masayuki Adachi and Horiba MIRA managing director Declan Allen broke the ground to initiate the construction of two new facilities — North West 07 and North 03 — that will become home to businesses specialising in electric hybrid vehicles, connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) and advanced driver-assistance systems.

Automotive businesses from China and North America have already been confirmed as new tenants for the new buildings.

Since 2011, MTP (www.miratechnologypark.com) has created hundreds of high-value jobs covering specialist areas including electromobility, embedded software systems, ECU calibration, CAV and vehicle resilience.

The new buildings will enable MTP to continue providing world-class facilities for ambitious automotive businesses from around the world to establish European R&D operations.

Speaking after the award ceremony, MTP commercial director Terry Spall said: “We are honoured to have been presented with the Queen’s Award.

“I’m extremely proud of what the team has achieved with the development of MTP, and this award is testament to the innovation and commitment we have seen from them over the past seven years to establish MTP as a strategic automotive-sector R&D location.”