Milltek Sport investing in the UK & USA

Following the recent opening of its £2.5 million Advanced Manufacturing Centre in Derby, performance exhaust manufacturer Milltek Sport is working on a new facility in the USA as part of a major, five-year strategic expansion in that market. Newly created subsidiary Milltek Corporation has set up warehousing and offices in Alcoa, Tennessee with an initial capital investment of US$2.5 million. The facility opened its doors in August, and Milltek will install an on-site manufacturing and R&D facility at the 35,000 square foot (3,252 square metre) site within the next 12 to 18 months. In total, the company will invest a further $8 million in Milltek Corp. over the coming five years.

Through Milltek Corp, the company will build on two decades of sales growth within the North American market, allowing it to support its existing US dealership network and welcome additional new specialist distribution partners. Milltek Sport anticipates that the Alcoa facility will enable it to significantly increase the range of exhaust systems it offers in North America. In addition to supplying components for popular European vehicles such as the Land Rover Defender V8, Volkswagen Golf GTI & R, BMW M3/M4 G-series, rapid growth is planned for US domestic market vehicles such as the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, RAM TRX, Ford Bronco and Jeep Gladiator.

A dedicated US-based customer support network will be on hand for the entire Milltek Corp dealer network. Milltek Sport also hints at a soon to be announced new partnership that will bring about further growth within its product range.

The US an exciting market

“We’ve worked hard to remain at the forefront of manufacturer trends throughout our 39-year history,” says Steve Pound, managing director of Milltek Sport and chief executive officer of Milltek Corp. “From forced induction and electrification, to tighter emission controls, our products continue to offer customers enhanced sound, quality, and durability, without compromising on compliance. The US domestic market has always been an exciting one for us, and plans for our next series of first to market systems for the USA are already well underway.”

Incentives offered by the State of Tennessee and Blount Country Economic Development encouraged selection of the Alcoa site, which Milltek says is located in “a prominent and accessible position for courier networks and close to east coast ports for inbound sea freight.” The company intends to create over 35 jobs at the facility over the next three years, with up to ten new members of the team joining in the first year.

Milltek Corp is the company’s second overseas expansion in the last five years, following the opening of Milltek Sport GmbH, its German business based near the Nürburgring race circuit. Milltek Sport expects the move to the USA will “mirror the successful growth achieved within central Europe since 2017,” aiding diversification into a new market segment.

Visitors at the SEMA Show, which takes place at the Las Vegas Convention Centre from 1-4 November, will have the opportunity to meet with the new Milltek Corp. team (Booth 24967 in the Performance and Racing area of Central Hall) and see the company’s latest range of products for European and US vehicles.

35% capacity increase through Derby investment

Established in 1983 and today one of the most experienced and well-known businesses in the aftermarket tuning industry, Milltek Sport considers that it “entered its latest and most impressive stage of growth” with the opening of the Milltek Sport Advanced Manufacturing Centre at its headquarters site in Derby.

The purpose-built facility took 18 months to complete and Milltek Sport anticipates it will bring benefits in terms of production efficiency, reduced energy consumption and increased output. Importantly, the facility will play a significant role in enabling Milltek Sport to meet demand for its performance systems as it develops a global presence.

The Milltek Sport Advanced Manufacturing Centre will bring benefits in terms of production efficiency, reduced energy consumption & increased output (Photo: Milltek Sport)

Furthermore, Milltek Sport estimates that production capacity will now increase by 35 per cent, resulting in reduced lead times and increased availability of ‘first to market’ systems for some of the most popular and newest performance vehicles, such as the Toyota GR Yaris, BMW M3/M4 G Series and new Audi RS3.

The new facility complements its research and design facility near the Nürburgring in Germany, plus a primary production facility in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

Latest manufacturing advancements

Adjacent to the company’s existing headquarters and warehouse & distribution facility in Pride Park, Derby, the Milltek Sport Advanced Manufacturing Centre is housed in a new 15,000 square foot (1,394 square metre) building that contains the latest advancements in manufacturing equipment. Notably, Milltek has added a BLM LT-3 Hi-Flex five-axis twin robot laser, BLM LC5 combo tube and sheet laser machine and a BLM Elect 102 CNC multi-stack tube 4”/102mm capacity bender, which work together to streamline production and provide an even higher standard of finish to every Milltek Sport system.

For example, the five-axis robotic laser produces parts in a radically different way to previous and delivers cuts that would not have been possible with hand processes. The laser cutting also enables advanced processing of raw materials, optimising efficiency and reducing scrap and waste.

The opening of the Milltek Sport Advanced Manufacturing Centre has also created an additional six roles, taking the amount of personnel at the business’ Derbyshire hub to 70. These include a product design engineer highly skilled in CAD and 3D modelling, with other new positions including machine operators.

Exciting period in our history

“As we approach our 40th anniversary in 2023, now is one of the most exciting periods in our history,” comments Steve Pound. “Demand for our products is growing at a significant rate and we want to strengthen our status as a leader in our segment, while continuing to create first-to-market systems for some of the newest and most talked about performance cars.

“Creating the Milltek Sport Advanced Manufacturing Centre will allow us to grow and diversify, while also optimising product quality and the speed of manufacturing. It also means we can complete more work in-house with less reliance on external suppliers.”

Pound continues: “It is excellent news for everyone involved with Milltek Sport and illustrates our commitment to providing the very best products and services to our distributors and the ultimate end users of our industry-leading performance exhaust systems.”

All Milltek Sport exhaust systems are produced from highly durable T304L stainless steel, with all accredited to ISO9001:2015 standard. Milltek Sport offers one of the widest ranges of EC Approved performance exhaust systems on the market, all tested and approved by TUV in Germany.