Jaguar Land Rover make tools in-house after £1.7m investment

Jaguar Land Rover makes the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport at Halewood

Jaguar Land Rover has started to make its own press tools in-house for the first time following a £1.7m investment at its Halewood plant on Merseyside.

The tools are the first stage in the manufacture of car body panels during new vehicle production.  

The parts had previously been made in Asia.

Press Parts Manager Niall Ford said the investment brought "a huge opportunity" for tool makers and apprentices to develop their skills.

He told BBC Radio Merseyside: "We bring in large coils of steel, and then we unwind them and cut them into individual pieces and then we stamp them into the sides of our cars and the parts that go on the underside, so it's quite a critical part of the business."

'Pivotal moment'

He said: "The plant's been open 58 years and we've always had a very large press shop, but we've never actually made the press tools themselves that make the parts.

"It brings on a huge opportunity to develop tool-making skills, so it's great news for our apprentices and our tool makers."

Mr Ford said moving the skills in-house was a pivotal moment after those skills had previously "been moved out to Asia".

"It's fantastic news for the plant and the press shop," he added.

Jaguar Land Rover makes the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport at Halewood.