MIRA Tech Park – a global hub for the UK’s Industrial Strategy
When the Government launched its Industrial Strategy this summer, it chose to hold the event at HORIBA MIRA, the renowned automotive engineering and development centre in Warwickshire.
For the Government’s purposes, it is hard to imagine a more ideal setting.
Originally established 79 years ago as the Motor Industry Research Association, HORIBA MIRA now sits at the heart of MIRA Tech Park as both a tenant and the anchor institution that enables Europe’s largest automotive and mobility R&D cluster through its world-leading technical capabilities and infrastructure. MIRA Tech Park spans over 850 acres and is home to leading global names including Bentley, Bosch, Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, and Aston Martin.
And in a year that marks the 10th anniversary of MIRA’s acquisition by HORIBA – the Japanese-based scientific instrument and testing group – the Tech Park is continuing to expand, with 140,000 sq ft of new space currently under construction and 2.3 million sq ft with outline approval on its South Site, taking it to 1,000 acres.
Sarah Windrum, head of cluster development at HORIBA MIRA, said: “We’d been in touch with key figures in the new Government well before the election, with them getting our feedback and talking to the cluster of companies we have based here.
“I think it became clear we were a logical choice for launching the Industrial Strategy, because we touch all of the different sectors in terms of technology, and because we have a proven track record of growth and enabling a global pipeline of new manufacturing.”
Making a difference
MIRA Tech Park is home to over 40 forward-thinking companies and connects with an extensive network of supply chain partners. Its tenants include Polestar’s UK development centre, hydrogen powertrain company Viritech, vehicle software company ClearMotion, manufacturing giant 3M, university spin-out Warwick Acoustics, and vehicle battery safety business Oerlikon as well as HORIBA MIRA itself.
HORIBA MIRA managing director Declan Allen added: “We have established a high-potential cluster of global developers, turning our great innovation in the UK into actual products and services that make a difference in this marketplace.
“You look at the companies that are here, the technologies that are here, the skills that are here and the potential that's here, I think we have a great story to tell. I think we recognised a little while ago that we risked becoming the best kept secret in the world and Sarah has been playing a big role in encouraging people to come and see us.
“So, if you're looking for an industrial site with the technology that shows a bright future and the skills that are already attracting a large global customer base and huge foreign investment, you can’t imagine a better place.”
“The Government team also wanted early careers involvement in the launch event,” said Sarah. “They wanted to meet the next generation of talent, the people who are going to be driving that industrial strategy over the next decade.
“Obviously we've got very strong talent development here, partnership with the universities and with our further education college – the MIRA Technology Institute – but also a number of global developers on-site with apprentices in high value, high opportunity roles.
“I don't think there's any other place in the UK that would be able to do that in quite the same way across so many different companies.”
While the team at HORIBA MIRA appreciate the kudos of hosting the Government’s Industrial Strategy launch, they are determined there should be practical benefits from the plan.
Sarah Windrum said: “As a nation we suffer now because we haven’t paid close enough attention to global competitiveness in the past, and we're hoping the Industrial Strategy now marks a change.
“We've got to see some action as a result of that. It can't just be warm words. A strategic direction is important, but we need to see action and the delivery – and I think they recognise that.
“We need to see support for those high growth businesses and global companies coming to the UK. How are we presenting a joint narrative that competes on a global stage? Because our competition isn't in the UK, it's in Europe. So how are we putting the best UK case forward?
“We've got global companies that want to land here and we need to make sure the right people are aligned and showing that company that they'll have a soft landing, and the UK will support them.
“Similarly, we’ve got great opportunities in energy and in water that could really benefit our local communities. But who's aligning with us and helping us to deliver that for the wider benefit?
“We’re an enabler to creating jobs and making things happen. We’ve shown what we can do.”
Declan Allen added: “We struggle with the inertia to build on the momentum that's been achieved. You know if you look at how we can signpost and do more on this site, that will make better use of taxpayers’ money than creating new sites elsewhere.
“A lot of the things that we're talking about can be delivered in the near term. So why isn't that resulting in local, regional or national government jumping on board and really accelerating things?”
One-stop shop to market
In the meantime, HORIBA MIRA is continuing to plan for growth as it builds on its near-80-year history.
Declan said: “We’ve gone through various stages in the past at MIRA where we may just have been a test and verification site.
“But over the last couple of decades, we've added to our engineering and technology capabilities to develop what we call a ‘one-stop shop’ which is a toolkit containing everything a global developer needs to get their product to market quickly.
“We’ve only got to look at the speed of development in China, for instance, to help us all realise how we need to challenge ourselves and push to develop quicker as a nation – and in the West as a whole.
“Our vision has been to build this one-stop shop, allowing customers to tap into that capability so they can move quickly and concentrate on their core business.
“If you look at the majority of startups who get into trouble, they overcommit. They try to do everything themselves and burn up whatever funding they have in a ridiculously short period of time. They run out of cash and haven’t got anything to show for it.
“We felt the need to complete our portfolio, so the one-stop shop could then cover not just research and development and testing but actually lead to commercialisation and scale-up.
“Our expansion footprint is aimed at advanced manufacturing, providing that good step forward so customers at that point can see the opportunity to innovate and scale-up in one location. It will take time out of the process, collapse logistics, collapse their CO2 footprint and satisfy true net zero requirement by building the product locally.”
The expansion for MIRA Tech Park has received outline planning approval for 2.3 million sq ft of large-scale manufacturing and industrial facilities that will complement the extensive R&D facilities and campus on the existing site.
With around 600 working at HORIBA MIRA and over 1,000 at tenant companies, the employment potential of the site rises to over 5,000 with the advanced manufacturing expansion.
Recent work by Oxford Economics has also shown that 2.5 supply chain jobs are created for every new job at MIRA Tech Park because of the high-value nature of the work.
Declan continued: “We are building on that heritage of test and development, primarily for mobility, but now looking at other areas such as defence, water, clean energy, and then the South Site provides the opportunity to take that into manufacturing, particularly low volume or prototype manufacturing.
“Automotive is a complex and challenging sector for product development. The modern motor car is probably one of the most complicated devices on the planet. The technology is all about optimising performance in real time – given split second information about traffic conditions and safety concerns.
“If you take the complexity on board with hundreds of microprocessors you then end up creating a highly connected and vulnerable device and criminals can take control of a fleet very easily.
“The motor car presents so many safety, energy and cyber requirements and its operation presents so many challenges – but therein lies the opportunity. You take the skill set involved in engineering vehicles to be safe and efficient, and lo and behold, you can see they are applicable across a whole range of other sectors.
Water works
“A major focus for us at HORIBA globally is the water sector because of our collective expertise.
“That includes cyber resilience and functional safety at water processing plants, data capture of engineering processes, data analytics, real-time decision making to avoid spills or reduce energy consumption.
“All the disciplines we have from a very tough automotive platform are relevant across defence, water, air quality, so that is where we are migrating to as a technology cluster that services all of those sectors.
“And actually, you'll find that the sectors overlap. Road runoff is a good example. One of the unintended consequences of increased electrification of road transport is that the tyre life on these heavy, extremely powerful electric vehicles can be compromised and degrade very quickly.
“Around 40% of the contamination in our waterways is down to road runoff. When it rains, all the debris gets washed off the roads into the waterways, and all the microplastics and rubber particles from worn tyres get into the system and processed through wastewater treatment and goes back onto the land.
“Engineers at our facilities here are looking across the mobility and water sectors, at tyre companies, National Highways, between vehicle developers and water companies, to see if we can solve that problem.
“Our water analysis is all based around our HORIBA equipment which has fuelled our growth in terms of automotive capabilities and now that growth and expertise are servicing the other sectors.”
MIRA’s acquisition by HORIBA a decade ago has been “transformational” for the business, said Declan.
“Many of the investments we have now wouldn't have been possible without HORIBA’s support. Our global group has enabled us to develop our technologies here and those are the technologies now that are relevant across all the sectors – for instance using our precision measurement instruments to measure water quality layered with our expertise in applied system engineering to deliver a robust and complete solution that solves real world challenges.” A decade on from HORIBA’s transformational acquisition, HORIBA MIRA continues to build on its heritage as a world-class engineering consultancy while anchoring the growth of MIRA Tech Park. Backed by HORIBA’s global strength in precision measurement and data analysis, and surrounded by a thriving ecosystem of innovative tenants, the site is now a unique UK asset: an integrated cluster where research, development, testing, and advanced manufacturing come together to drive industrial growth and address global challenges.
Sustainable Mobility Innovation For more information go to www.miratechpark.com and www.horiba-mira.com