Engineering news
Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the Formula 1 championship for the fourth year in a row
A small precision engineering firm played a major part in the success of Formula 1 team Infiniti Red Bull Racing, whose driver Sebastian Vettel clinched the world title this month.
MP Engineering produces high complexity metallic parts for the front wing, front and rear suspensions, gearbox and chassis of the Red Bull cars, as well as parts for pit gear. It is one of the team’s top three metallic parts suppliers and specialises in five-axis high-precision, complex CNC lathe work.
Commercial director of the Leicestershire firm, Jason Poole, said: “It's fantastic to see them winning. Red Bull makes you feel as though you are part of the team.”
Eight years ago the firm supplied all Formula 1 teams but struggled to keep up with demand and decided to concentrate on work for Milton Keynes-based Red Bull, who were not achieving podium finishes at the time.
This year Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the Formula 1 championship for the fourth year in a row and the team also took the top spot in the constructors' championship for the fourth consecutive time.
Infiniti Red Bull Racing can send the CAD file of a part to MP Engineering on a Monday and the team receives it the same week.
Now MP Engineering is now bringing the fast turnaround speeds of Formula 1 to the aerospace industry. The company already supplies Meggitt aerospace and is in talks to supply Bombardier. Poole said: “Meggitt couldn’t believe the turnaround time we could offer. It gave us a foot in the door with them.”
He added: “We are so busy, I don’t know what to do with myself.”
The firm has just bought a 15,000 square foot premises after renting it for the last two years. The space is three times the size of the site it left in 2011.
Poole said the company is investing three quarters of a million pounds in new machinery and will be looking to take on up to five new staff in the year ahead.
Two thirds of the company's £3 million turnover comes from work with Red Bull Racing.