State-of-the-art 7,900 tonne stamping machine installation completed at Halewood The first servo press line of its kind to be constructed in the UK New line will extend stamping capacity for Jaguar Land Rover Investment will improve efficiency, speed, quality and safety in the press shop Aida Engineering completed the installation of the new press line, making the Halewood press shop one of the largest stamping floors in the UK Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s leading manufacturer of premium vehicles, has invested £45m in a new state-of-the-art servo press line at its Halewood operations, near Liverpool, England. The new servo stamping line, the first of its kind to be built in the UK, is 13 metres tall and over 85 metres long. It has a combined press stamping capacity of 7,900 tonnes, making it the fastest and one of the biggest and most powerful press lines across Jaguar Land Rover, stamping both steel and aluminium panels. Installing this giant facility required a major reconfiguration of the Halewood press shop, with the plant roof raised by almost 12 metres to accommodate the new machinery. The press shop bay also had to have its footprint extended by almost 50 percent, compared to that of the previous stamping machine. Richard Else, Jaguar Land Rover, operations director, Halewood, said, “This colossal new press line reinforces Jaguar Land Rover’s long-term investment in UK manufacturing. Halewood is one of the most flexible, advanced automotive manufacturing facilities in Europe, producing two of the highest quality, largest selling Jaguar Land Rover vehicles in over 170 countries world-wide. This investment ensures we can make more panels, even more efficiently, and will continue to do so for many years to come.” At the end of March, Aida, the premier global manufacturer of metal stamping presses, will complete the finishing touches to the installation. Trial pressings will commence in April and the facility will begin stamping panels for use across Jaguar Land Rover from the summer. By autumn the facility will be up to full speed, making up to 20 strikes per minute. This servo press is the first of its type to be used by Jaguar Land Rover. Compared to the more mechanical operation of the existing Halewood presses, the direct drive servo system can handle higher tonnages in addition to working at higher speeds, allowing Halewood to increase the volume of stamped parts for use across Jaguar Land Rover. The new line also uses less power and incorporates an energy recovery system that captures energy from the draw action and converts it into electricity. The design of the Aida press also allows for faster die changes (the metal molds that form the panel shapes). Changes can be achieved in under 5 minutes, compared to the up to 55 minutes for the largest existing mechanical Halewood press line. This will improve the flexibility of the press shop, increase stamping capacity, increase the speed and volume of panels that can be produced at Halewood every day. The new press line will speed up the delivery of the required volume of pressed parts produced at Halewood. This will help to feed the body shops across Jaguar Land Rover that are working around the clock to meet the increasing global demand for its award-winning vehicles. Halewood operations manufactures the Land Rover Freelander 2 and the multi-award-winning Range Rover Evoque. The plant is operating at full capacity, 24 hours a day, for the first time in its 50-year history. More than £230 million has been invested in Halewood since 2011 and Jaguar Land Rover has invested more than £3 billion in UK supply contracts linked with Evoque production. The workforce has trebled in the past three years to 4,500 and over 2,200 employees have completed apprenticeships in the past two years. Halewood press shop – facts and figures Halewood’s press shop is one of the largest stamping floors in the UK, covering a 30,000m2 area. The press shop includes ten fully automated press lines, with tonnage capacity from 600 to 1,000 tonnes, stamping both steel and aluminium parts. Around 700 panels are produced every hour, 25 million every year. 18 million hits – steel stamped per year, plus almost 1 million aluminium hits. 60 percent of Halewood stamping production is for Halewood with the remainder going to Castle Bromwich and Solihull for other vehicles in the Jaguar Land Rover line-up. 80 percent of Jaguar Land Rover total stamping volume is produced at Halewood. 234 die sets (the mould for the panels). The press shop operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week on a four-shift system.
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