MIRA Technology Park Announces Major Milestone in Development
MIRA Technology Park, the 1.75 million sq ft technology park near Hinckley, has today reached another major milestone in its development as it announces the latest international business to be based at the site.
Swedish firm Haldex – which develops and provides reliable and innovative solutions that improve safety, vehicle dynamics, and environmental sustainability in the global commercial vehicle industry – will create its new European Technical Centre in the first bespoke facility to be created at MIRA Technology Park.
The creation of the 25,500 sq ft Technical Centre, which will enable Haldex to undertake research and development for their global products, will include laboratory facilities and allow Haldex engineers direct access to MIRA’s test facilities and its engineering expertise.
The announcement is a key landmark in the first phase of the £300 million technology park development, which was granted Enterprise Zone status in 2011.
George Gillespie, CEO MIRA, said:
“We are delighted to be able to announce Haldex’s forthcoming residency at MIRA Technology Park. We believe they are a great addition to the developing technology cluster and to the region as a whole, this new Technical Centre will bring an initial 44 high tech jobs to the Technology Park and we are very excited to be part of this significant milestone for Haldex.
“MIRA Technology Park has been purposely created to offer international businesses the ideal location for their European research and development operations and having made significant progress in the last 18 months with the successful completion of phase one of the development. We believe Haldex, who are making a substantial investment into MIRA Technology Park, really are placing themselves at the very heart of Europe’s automotive research and development community.”
Bo Annvik, President and CEO at Haldex, said:
“The relocation of our European R&D Centre to MIRA Technology Park will allow us to expand our Engineering capabilities and benefit from integrating at one site our world class design and development resources with the multiple test track facilities at MIRA. We look forward to be a part of the MIRA community, and we believe that this initiative will be a key strategic step in supporting our development that will benefit both Haldex and our customers.”
Nick Rushton, Leader of Leicestershire County Council and LLEP board member said:
“This investment is a major achievement for Leicestershire and shows we’re at the heart of a major revival in the automotive engineering industry. It will create lots of high level engineering positions and support the LLEP’s aim of creating 25,000 private sector jobs by 2020.”
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles said:
“We have acted fast to tackle the deficit. We are now focused on backing the industries of the future, growing the private sector and making Britain a great place to do business.
“When international companies like Haldex invest here it shows we have got our offer right. Every 20 seconds a car, van, bus or truck rolls off a UK production line and Enterprise Zones like MIRA Technology Park are magnets for the global motor industry with the best international businesses choosing them as their home.
“This is just the beginning – Enterprise Zones are at the heart of our long-term economic plans. They are already making a big difference, attracting increased investment to the UK – half a billion pounds so far – and creating over 4,600 jobs in just a year and a half.”
Since 2010, MIRA Technology Park has created a total of 224 technology related jobs as a result of the development and, including this announcement from Haldex, are expecting a further 100 to be created this year. The aim is to create up to 2,000 jobs in the Technology Park by 2020 and eventually house businesses from across the automotive, aerospace, rail, defence and associated digital technology sectors.
