Coventry-based Sarginsons (www.sarginsons.com), a world-leading manufacturer of lightweight castings, has landed a prestigious industry award for its work on a project with an international automotive company.

Sarginsons picked up the Cast Metals Federation’s Component of the Year award at the Casting Industry Achievement Awards 2018 in recognition of its innovative work on a front sub-frame for the launch of a new Jaguar Land Rover prototype — known as L551 21MY.

Sarginsons was asked to create the part as a single-piece aluminium frame — something that had never been done before and many in the industry felt was impossible.

Moreover, the Coventry firm had just 12 weeks to deliver 250 components, commencing six weeks from receipt of the 3-D CAD model.

Sarginsons worked with partners at Alphateq and Midland Alloy to create the sub-frame; and there were various complexities to consider around the strength and safety of the component in order to meet roadworthy standards, despite the vehicle being a prototype.

After just a few weeks of working on the project, Sarginsons “delivered the impossible” and helped to ensure that the prototype of the L551 21MY was ready for launch with its single-piece aluminium sub-frame.

Sarginsons technical manager, Kevin Brierley — who led the programme and received the award on the night — said: “We are so pleased to pick up this award, as it is recognition that we are at the cutting-edge of light-weighting technology and that we push the boundaries on behalf of clients.

“Others had deemed this particular component to be almost a ‘mission impossible’, but the fact that we managed to find a way to deliver what JLR wanted is testament to the team here and some of the partners we work with in the supply chain.”

The award caps a positive period for Sarginsons, which recently announced that it is investing a six-figure sum in new machinery and recruitment, as it continues to expand.