Hartlepool brake pad manufacturer TMD Friction has outlined new growth plans after securing £2m of investment from its parent company.
The North East arm of the global automotive firm currently makes brake pads for 95% of the models of Europe's aftermarket, including small trucks, vans and emergency service vehicles.
The Hartlepool facility currently employs 449 people and despite the coronavirus pandemic it saw strong demand for its parts during the last quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021.
TMD Friction expects to be making around 120,000 parts per week throughout 2021.
To keep up with the demand the business has invested in hiring new staff and new machinery, spending £450,000 on a new paint line and £250,000 on state-of-the-art compressors.
But now the firm's parent company TMD Friction Group is investing a further £2m to ensure it can continue to meet demand.
David Baines, TMD Friction’s CEO, said: “The Hartlepool site has grown massively in the past 12 months, despite the global coronavirus pandemic, and we now have the broadest capabilities in the group at Hartlepool. In fact, the chances are if you are changing the brake pads on your car, they will have been made in Hartlepool.
“To build on that, and really establish this facility as a global centre of excellence, the group has committed significant investment which will support the continued scale up of production.
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“Alongside that, we are investing in our existing workforce and bringing new talent into the business which will help us achieve the ambitious plans we’ve put in place for the current financial year.”
Over the past 12 months, TMD Friction has introduced 52 new products and has added two new flagship customers to its portfolio of automotive manufacturers. But despite this, the company said it had still been a challenging year.
Tom Russell, 海角视频 Operations Manager, added: “The growth at the Hartlepool plant over the past 12 months – probably the hardest 12 months we’ve ever faced – is down to the dedication and commitment of our workforce.
“As a team we’ve shown real resilience and as a result only six days of production time were lost during the pandemic – six days where we closed the plant and worked round the clock to get the production areas Covid-safe.
“Since then, production has been significantly upscaled and we’re now making more of the product range here at Hartlepool than anywhere else in the world.
“That’s something we’re incredibly proud of and credit has to go to our staff who have worked tirelessly to ensure we’re consistently meeting production targets.”