During the first quarter of the year, 55 exhaust and 30 catalytic converter references were added to an already market leading range, providing a further 100 model applications. With plans in place to accelerate the development programme, by year end the company aim to have added a total of 400 new references.
Chief engineer at the company’s state of the art R&D facility, Doug Bentley, commented: “This will be a record number of new parts since testing relocated to Cheadle from Blackpool in 2001. We’ve made significant investment in testing including a purpose built test track. New parts development isn’t just about spotting tomorrows best sellers; new parts are the lifeblood of a full range manufacturer such as ourselves. We’re committed to providing a full range and to giving our customers market coverage in the region of 95 per cent”.
ArvinMeritor LVAs Research & Development Centre is adjacent to the company’s Manitube production plant at Cheadle, Staffordshire. The Centre’s close proximity to manufacturing ensures the lead-time from development to production is kept to a minimum and that exhaust and catalyst products aim to be first to market. This means customers benefit from the availability of the very latest models of the Citroen C5, Fiat Stilo & Panda, Ford Fiesta & Transit, Rover 25 & 45 and Renault Clio & Megane.
