HORIBA MIRA Enjoys Continued Success as Part of The HORIBA Group

• £29m committed investment into global leader since July 2015
• Major investments in new facilities, buildings and engineering capabilities

HORIBA MIRA Ltd. – a world-leader in advanced engineering, research and product testing – has benefitted from a total of £29m investment since joining the HORIBA Group one year ago; enabling ambitious plans for
growth and an increase in staff. 

Investment to date has enabled HORIBA MIRA to make significant upgrades to a number of its existing facilities, including its world-class crash testing capabilities and wind tunnels, along with new additions to the site including the Advanced Emissions Test Centre, which is due for completion in early 2017. The AETC, which represents a total of £6m of investment, will provide emissions testing capabilities for global compliance, including Euro6 and the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), as well as incorporating Real World Driving Emissions (RDE) testing capabilities.

In addition, investment from the HORIBA Group over the last 12 months has enabled HORIBA MIRA to complete Phase One of its Technology Park development as well as pave the way for Phase Two – which is now well under construction.

As well as facilities and infrastructure, HORIBA investment has also allowed HORIBA MIRA to bolster its capabilities across the business, with the introduction of new staff – including the appointment of Engineering Director, Nick Fell. Continuing this momentum, HORIBA MIRA plans to recruit dozens of additional staff within 2016, from apprentices through to senior management across many areas of the business including its Functional Safety, Future Transport Technology, Cyber Security, Connected & Autonomous Vehicles and Emissions teams.

The business aims to have one of the largest independent Functional Safety teams in Europe by the end of 2016, which will further cement HORIBA MIRA’s capabilities in automotive system safety including ISO 26262 and SAE J3061. By 2020, HORIBA MIRA plans to employ approximately 850 members of staff worldwide – an increase of almost 70% in its workforce since joining the HORIBA Group.

Atsushi Horiba, Chairman, President and CEO at HORIBA, said:

 “The HORIBA Group is fully committed to the development of HORIBA MIRA’s long-term global strategy, and we are thrilled to have seen the business grow and strengthen its offer over the last 12 months. We are looking forward to continuing to see HORIBA MIRA make waves within the automotive industry and an impact on global transport technology innovation.”

George Gillespie OBE, CEO at HORIBA MIRA, said:

“Our plan for HORIBA MIRA is to grow significantly and rapidly, and through the support of HORIBA we’ve been able to accelerate against this vision over the last year. The investment into both facilities and staff is key to this, and we’re putting the building blocks in place to enable our goal of growing the business by more than 50% since becoming part of the HORIBA Group.”

HORIBA MIRA became part of the HORIBA Group on July 14 2015. The investment saw HORIBA expand its existing portfolio, with a move into vehicle engineering and testing. Collectively, the two companies have more than 140 years of experience in their respective fields, with both celebrating 70 years of operation in 2015/16.